New Manchester City signing Rayan Cherki is relishing the accidental to punish rivals Manchester United arsenic revenge for his Europa League pain.
The Frenchman and erstwhile nine Lyon suffered a melodramatic quarter-final exit astatine Old Trafford successful April aft losing a 4-2 pb successful other time.
In a melodramatic decorativeness to their second-leg tie, United struck 3 times, including doubly successful the last minute, to snatch a stunning 5-4 triumph connected the nighttime and 7-6 connected aggregate.
Forward Cherki scored successful some legs of the necktie and videos emerged of him celebrating his thunderous effort astatine United by grabbing his crotch successful beforehand of the location supporters.
The 21-year-old, who joined City from Lyon for an archetypal interest of £30.45m, laughed erstwhile asked astir the incident, but confessed helium has United successful his sights again erstwhile the caller play starts.
"I [didn't] similar [it] erstwhile Manchester United won the crippled against Lyon due to the fact that I americium a Lyonnais," said Cherki. "Now I americium waiting for the crippled [to] termination them.
"I'm present to triumph each the games."
Cherki and City volition find retired erstwhile they volition look United erstwhile the Premier League fixtures for the 2025-26 play are released connected Wednesday.
Cherki was antecedently linked with a determination to Manchester United, but joined Pep Guardiola's broadside connected a five-year contract.
Described arsenic "one of the top technicians successful Europe", helium made his elder debut for Lyon astatine 16 and scored 29 goals and provided 45 assists successful 185 games for the club.
Cherki tin play arsenic a winger but his penchant is simply a much cardinal fig 10 role, and has been viewed arsenic a imaginable replacement for the inspirational Kevin de Bruyne, who near City for Napoli connected a escaped transfer.
City person besides signed Netherlands planetary Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan arsenic portion of a midfield rebuild.
But France planetary Cherki wants to make his ain bequest with Guardiola's broadside and spoke of his ambition to triumph large trophies and the Ballon d'Or similar City team-mate Rodri did successful 2024.
"I'm not Kevin De Bruyne, helium is the legend," helium added. "I'm present to assistance the squad and to constitute my ain story. I anticipation to triumph each the clip with the team.
"When you spot Rodri, helium won the Ballon d'Or present – it's wide that with Manchester City it's imaginable and I americium present for this.
"When I spoke with Pep, helium wanted maine - helium was very, precise clear. Pep told me, 'when you person the ball, you are free', which is precise bully for maine due to the fact that it's my archetypal prime to assistance the team.
"The system, the club, the metropolis is precise good. I privation to triumph and I deliberation Manchester City wants to triumph it all."
Cherki joins a City broadside with a increasing Arabic power aft the accomplishment of Egyptian guardant Omar Marmoush successful January and left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves this summer.
They articulation chap Muslim players, German Ilkay Gundogan and Uzbekistan defender Abdukhodir Khusanov, successful the squad for the Fifa Club World Cup successful the USA.
Interest successful City astir the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) portion has produced a important spike with a 140m summation successful assemblage scope since Marmoush's arrival, and shirts bearing the forward's sanction person been 1 of the apical sellers, alongside Erling Haaland.
City's opening Club World Cup crippled comes against Moroccan broadside Wydad AC successful Philadelphia connected Wednesday (kick-off 17:00 BST).
Cherki, who is of Algerian descent, seems to already person struck a enslaved with France-born Algeria planetary Ait-Nouri astatine their grooming basal successful Boca Raton successful Florida.
The brace were warming up adjacent to each different connected Saturday and were successful the aforesaid radical during drills.
Asked astir his ain £31m determination from Wolves, Ait-Nouri said: "It was precise bully due to the fact that it's a dream, 1 of the champion teams successful the world, a batch of large players successful this team.
"For definite I was arrogant due to the fact that I worked precise hard since I came to England. It's a large measurement for my career. I volition springiness everything. I volition amusement what I tin bash connected the pitch."
English (US) ·