Working with Pep Guardiola is extraordinary, says Rayan Cherki ahead of must-win Brentford clash

Rayan Cherki describes working with Pep Guardiola as “extraordinary” due to their shared vision of football

France international says both he and Guardiola want to “always attack” and “create chaos”

Midfielder has enjoyed an impressive debut season at Man City since £34M transfer from Lyon

Rayan Cherki has described working with Pep Guardiola as “extraordinary”, revealing that the pair share a strikingly similar philosophy on how football should be played.

In conversation with Men in Blazers, Cherki has opened up on the relationship he has built with Pep Guardiola since joining from Lyon for £34 million last summer – and why the fit between player and manager has felt so natural from the very beginning.

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The 22-year-old has been one of the standout performers in the Premier League this season, reaching 24 goal contributions in all competitions and producing a series of moments that have made him one of the most exciting players in English football.

Rayan Cherki is an extraordinary talent, says Pep Guardiola after Manchester City win over Chelsea

His rise has prompted widespread debate about the relationship between his free-spirited style and Guardiola’s typically structured demands, a debate Cherki’s latest comments appear to resolve decisively in his own mind.

Cherki: Pep has a vision very similar to mine

Cherki was expansive and enthusiastic when asked about what it is like to work under Guardiola on a daily basis.

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“Working with Pep is extraordinary because he has a vision of football that is very similar to mine; always having the ball, always wanting to attack, always wanting to create chaos,” he said.

“So it’s really extraordinary to work with him. It’s about inventing, creating, doing things that nobody else sees or understands – that’s my philosophy.

The description of wanting to “create chaos” is a revealing one and entirely consistent with the way Cherki plays. It also suggests that rather than being a player Guardiola has had to adapt his system around, the two have found a genuine common ground built on shared instincts about what football should look like at its best.

The comments echo those Cherki has previously made, describing Guardiola as “crazy” in his love for football and said that “the football is him and him is the football”.

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Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has made similar observations, describing Guardiola’s effect on a team as something that “until you live it, you’ll never understand.” For Cherki, living it has clearly felt like coming home.

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What does the relationship mean for City’s future?

Guardiola has been open about the areas where he wants more from Cherki, specifically his tendency to fade from games when City are winning comfortably.

But his broader verdict on the Frenchman has been consistently glowing, describing his talent as something that “cannot be taught” and declaring all his players as fitting his style when pushed on whether Cherki is a “typical Guardiola player.”

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