Rayan Cherki told what he must achieve before making a habit of mid-game keepy-uppies - with ex-Man City star predicting Pep Guardiola’s message

Guardiola knew what he was getting when prising Cherki away from Lyon for £34 million ($46m) in the summer of 2025. The charismatic 22-year-old had already established a reputation in his homeland for wanting to sprinkle magic dust on every fixture that he graces.

He is as competitive as any other player, with there a desire on his part to win matches and collect major honours. Cherki is, however, cut from similar cloth to the likes of Brazilian superstars Ronaldinho and Neymar.

For him it is important not only to win, but to do so with style. Football is an entertainment business, with it up to those on the field to get supporters in the crowd on their feet. Cherki, with flamboyant stepovers and Rabona crosses in his bag of tricks, wants to play with a smile and for coaches and fans to share in his joy.

He did cause something of a stir during City’s Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal when indulging in some ball-juggling as the Blues eased towards their first trophy of the season, with ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville saying while on co-commentary duty: “I think it’s a bit too early for that if I am being honest. That was a little bit arrogant.”

Ex-Premier League manager Alan Pardew added on the incident in question: “Juggling with the ball like that, it’s an insult in the pro game. If you’re a pro footballer, that is a no-go.”

Not everybody shares that opinion, with many happy to see Cherki breaking from the norm of robotic professionals in the modern era. Former City midfielder Barry is a big fan of Cherki, but can appreciate why some - including Guardiola - will be urging caution.

Speaking exclusively to GOAL courtesy of BetMGM, Barry said when asked for his take on Cherki’s antics and what Guardiola will be saying behind closed doors: “It's such a tough argument. As fans watching it, it's great to see players doing different tricks, exciting us. I wouldn't sit here and say, ‘no, you can't be doing that’ because it's great to watch. I love watching the flamboyance and the ability of these players that can do stuff like that on the pitch.

“Pep's obviously seen it from certain players over the years. If he's producing the numbers posted by certain players that Pep's worked with over the years, then I'm sure he's going to allow him to do that.

“I think Pep will be making a point, ‘you're not quite ready to do that at the moment’. That's how I see it. I think keep scoring goals, keep playing how you've been playing, win some more trophies here, then the keepy-uppies, you can do them as often as you want. I'm sure that's the point he's trying to make, rather than be like, ‘don't do that’.”

Thierry Henry, who worked with Cherki when taking charge of the France Olympic team in 2024, has come out since and backed his fellow countryman to “accomplish exceptional things”, while club colleague Erling Haaland considers his mercurial team-mate to boast “special ability” that could be compared to the skill set of City legend Kevin De Bruyne.

Guardiola has been accused of reining in Jack Grealish to the point that a creative spark was extinguished in the England winger’s game, but the Catalan coach currently has the likes of Jeremy Doku and Savinho at his disposal - having previously worked with Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery - so is clearly not averse to granting players like Cherki the freedom in which to express themselves.

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