Manchester City forward Rayan Cherki has been warned by a former France manager that he has “no chance” of playing at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Cherki broke into the France national team after a memorable campaign with Lyon last season. He has become a regular under Didier Deschamps and his summer move to Manchester City proved he’s a force to be reckoned with.
Despite struggling with injuries in his early days at City, Cherki has started to feature regularly in Pep Guardiola’s team since recovering.
He has appeared in nine matches across all competitions for the Cityzens, registering three goals and as many assists. Despite City manager Pep Guardiola pleased with his work rate, former France manager Raymond Domenech has warned Cherki he won’t make it to Deschamps’ 2026 World Cup squad.
Rayan Cherki celebrates scoring for Manchester City. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Speaking to L’Equipe de Greg, Domenech said: “(Maghnes) Akliouche, (Michael) Olise, and (Christopher) Nkunku are his direct competition… he has no chance. Everything depends on what he does at Manchester City, if they go far, if he plays a few games, comes on at the end of some games, a little 15 minutes here and there.”
Domenech might have had his say but Cherki has impressed lots of football lovers including France national team captain Kylian Mbappe.
Real Madrid star Mbappe heaped praise on the 22-year-old: “He’s a special talent. I think he has a gift, which he’s making the most of. It’s an innate, spectacular talent. He’s integrated very well into the group and into Manchester City, which isn’t easy. I hope he continues like this. He’s started well with us. Now he has the opportunity to return, and I hope he’s as good as he was at Manchester City.”
Cherki who will be eager to be part of the travelling party when the World Cup squad is announced shared what he brings to the City team, while describing himself as an ‘old school footballer’. “I’m not a stats guy. I think that you can see that in the way that I play football,” he said to TF1. “I’m an old-school footballer, and the ‘old-school’ didn’t look at stats. I know that nowadays, that element is very important.”
