By Daily Sports Nigeria on June 16, 2025

New Manchester City signing Rayan Cherki is relishing the chance to punish rivals Manchester United as revenge for his Europa League pain.

The Frenchman and former club Lyon suffered a dramatic quarter-final exit at Old Trafford in April after losing a 4-2 lead in extra time.

In a dramatic finish to their second-leg tie, United struck three times, including twice in the final minute, to snatch a stunning 5-4 win on the night and 7-6 on aggregate.

Forward Cherki scored in both legs of the tie and videos emerged of him celebrating his thunderous effort at United by grabbing his crotch in front of the home supporters.

The 21-year-old, who joined City from Lyon for an initial fee of £30.45m, laughed when asked about the incident, but confessed he has United in his sights again once the new season starts.

"I [didn't] like [it] when Manchester United won the game against Lyon because I am a Lyonnais," said Cherki. "Now I am waiting for the game [to] kill them.

"I'm here to win all the games."

Cherki and City will find out when they will face United when the Premier League fixtures for the 2025-26 season are released on Wednesday.

Cherki was previously linked with a move to Manchester United, but joined Pep Guardiola's side on a five-year contract.

Described as "one of the greatest technicians in Europe", he made his senior debut for Lyon at 16 and scored 29 goals and provided 45 assists in 185 games for the club.

Cherki can play as a winger but his preference is a more central number 10 role, and has been viewed as a possible replacement for the inspirational Kevin de Bruyne, who left City for Napoli on a free transfer.

City have also signed Netherlands international Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan as part of a midfield rebuild.

But France international Cherki wants to create his own legacy with Guardiola's side and spoke of his ambition to win major trophies and the Ballon d'Or like City team-mate Rodri did in 2024.

"I'm not Kevin De Bruyne, he is the legend," he added. "I'm here to help the team and to write my own story. I hope to win all the time with the team.

"When you see Rodri, he won the Ballon d'Or here – it's clear that with Manchester City it's possible and I am here for this.

"When I spoke with Pep, he wanted me - he was very, very clear. Pep told me, 'when you have the ball, you are free', which is very good for me because it's my first quality to help the team.

"The system, the club, the city is very good. I want to win and I think Manchester City wants to win it all."

Cherki joins a City side with a growing Arabic influence after the arrival of Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush in January and left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves this summer.

They join fellow Muslim players, German Ilkay Gundogan and Uzbekistan defender Abdukhodir Khusanov, in the squad for the Fifa Club World Cup in the USA.

Interest in City around the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has produced a significant spike with a 140m increase in audience reach since Marmoush's arrival, and shirts bearing the forward's name have been one of the top sellers, alongside Erling Haaland.

City's opening Club World Cup game comes against Moroccan side Wydad AC in Philadelphia on Wednesday (kick-off 17:00 BST).

Cherki, who is of Algerian descent, seems to already have struck a bond with France-born Algeria international Ait-Nouri at their training base in Boca Raton in Florida.

The pair were warming up next to each other on Saturday and were in the same group during drills.

Asked about his own £31m move from Wolves, Ait-Nouri said: "It was very good because it's a dream, one of the best teams in the world, a lot of great players in this team.

"For sure I was proud because I worked very hard since I came to England. It's a big step for my career. I will give everything. I will show what I can do on the pitch."

Source BBC Sports

Posted June 16, 2025

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