Man City signs France playmaker Cherki to usher in start of post-De Bruyne era

By Canadian Press on June 10, 2025.

Manchester City kickstarted the post-Kevin De Bruyne era by signing maverick France playmaker Rayan Cherki from Lyon for 36 million euros ($41 million) on Tuesday, in time to play in the Club World Cup.

The 21-year-old Cherki, regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in French soccer, scored a brilliant volley and starred as a substitute on his international debut for France against Spain in the Nations League semifinals last week.

A product of Lyon’s renowned academy like Karim Benzema, Cherki has been on the radar of Europe’s biggest clubs for a while. He came close to signing for Paris Saint-Germain in the last offseason but the move fell through.

Now he is headed for City and is set to fill the role vacated by De Bruyne, the team’s long-time star who has been released after 10 years’ service. With Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders also reported by British media to be joining City, the club appears to be re-energizing a midfield that was filled last season with players in their 30s like Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva.

Kovacic has undergone Achilles surgery and is unavailable for the new-look, 32-team Club World Cup, which starts on Saturday. City in the same group as Juventus, Al Ain and Wydad Casablanca and its first match is on June 18.

Cherki’s background

Cherki, the youngest-ever goal scorer for Lyon in a competitive match, quickly impressed in youth competitions. He made his Ligue 1 debut at just 16 years old in October 2019 and scored his first senior goal a few weeks later in a French Cup match.

The attacking midfielder scored eight goals and provided 11 assists — the most in Ligue 1 — this season and can play either on the wing or as a playmaker.

According to L’Equipe newspaper, Lyon will retain 15% of the rights to any capital gain from a future transfer and can expect a further 2 million euros ($2.3 million) in bonuses between now and 2030.

The transfer of Cherki comes a day after Algeria left back Rayan Ait-Nouri joined City from Wolverhampton for $42 million.

Bettinelli signs as backup

Also Tuesday, City signed Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea as a backup goalkeeper.

City made the move after announcing the departure of long-term No. 3 goalie Scott Carson on Monday with his contract due to expire.

Bettinelli has joined on a one-year deal and in time to be involved in the Club World Cup in the United States starting on Saturday.

“His experience and mentality will hopefully complement our other senior goalkeepers while ensuring he’s always ready to perform when called upon himself,” City director of football Hugo Viana said.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Steve Douglas, The Associated Press