Man City boss Pep Guardiola on Rayan Cherki - 'the club decided'

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed that their new club signing from Lyon, Rayan Cherki, was signed based on a collective decision by him and the club.

The Spanish manager hints that City’s signing of the Lyon star Cherki was the club’s decision too, as he reflected on the new midfielder after his side’s first Club World Cup match.

Cherki, 21, was one of the hottest prospects of the transfer market, with rivals Manchester United and Liverpool both thought to have shown interest in the player following a successful season at Lyon in the French Ligue 1.

Cherki was named UEFA Europa League Young Player of the Season after finishing as the competition’s top assist in the competition, and has been recorded as one of the finest on the continent.

City secured the services of the midfielder for £34 million as part of the club’s rebuild this summer, with the club adding Chelsea‘s third-choice goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, former Wolves star Rayan Ait-Nouri, and AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders to the ranks.

Just after grabbing City’s 2-0 win in the new-look Club World Cup tournament, and assessing one of his first performances against Moroccan outfit Wydad AC, Guardiola dropped a bombshell about his newest player.

Rayan Cherki for Lyon. Image credit: Getty Images

“Of course Kevin (De Bruyne) is difficult to replace, we know that, Guardiola told reporters.

‘For the quality he has, there is no doubt about it, but at the same time, the club decided on Rayan because he has incredible skills close to the box and great vision, pass in many things.

“It was just a first game with tough, tough conditions,’ Guardiola added. ‘I’m really pleased he came here.”

The 54-year-old City boss also discussed Cherki’s preferred position with the player after putting pen to paper on his deal, with the Catalan manager reassuring his new signing that he can be “free”.

Cherki, who has been open about his desire to work with the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager, revealed part of his discussion with his new manager.

“I spoke with Pep about my position on the pitch, and we spoke about what I enjoy when I’m on the pitch. It’s very good for me.

“He told me he loves a No10, but now I play all the positions in the pitch – so it’s not complicated because I just want to play, Cherki continued.

“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.”