close
Manchester City fans were left fuming after Pep Guardiola kept Rayan Cherki on the bench for their Premier League opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Cityzens face the Midlands club at the Molinuex on Saturday, August 16.
Interestingly, City signed Cherki from Lyon at the start of the summer for a reported £34m fee. The 21-year-old registered 13 goals and 21 assists from 48 games last season, but failed to make it into Manchester City's starting XI for the first game of the season.
Fans were disappointed at the absence of Cherki from the starting line up, and took to social media to express their opinion. One fan suggested that he would turn the TV off because Cherki wasn't playing, writing:
"Cherki bench TV off"
Another added:
"How on earth is Cherki on the bench? mtsw. okay. Trafford as our number 1 now. Eddie is leaving."
Another fan wondered why Manchester City had handed Cherki the No. 10 shirt only to name him on the bench, stating:
"Blessed Cherki with the #10 just to bench him?!"
Another quipped:
"Our creator is on the bench"
One fan was convinced that Guardiola had lost his mind, commenting:
"Confirmed that Cherki will always get benched this season, while we'll keep starting players like Bernardo, Stones and Lewis in big 2025. Pep has lost his mind surely"
@ManCity @premierleague @etihad Confirmed that Cherki will always get benched this season, while we'll keep starting players like Bernardo, Stones and Lewis in big 2025 Pep has lost his mind surely
Another chimed:
"CHERKI must play"
Another fan slammed City's starting XI, stating:
"No cherki, savinho and Foden. Terrible line up"
One fan suggested that it was time for Guardiola to retire, adding:
"No Marmoush, no cherki.. when is pep retiring?"
@ManCity @premierleague @etihad No Marmoush , no cherki.. when is pep retiring?
Manchester City finished in third place in the Premier League last season, 13 points behind champions Liverpool.
What has Pep Guardiola said about Ederson's future at Manchester City?
Ederson's future remains unclear" srcset="https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/08/b4997-17553613281423-1920.jpg?w=190 190w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/08/b4997-17553613281423-1920.jpg?w=720 720w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/08/b4997-17553613281423-1920.jpg?w=640 640w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/08/b4997-17553613281423-1920.jpg?w=1045 1045w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/08/b4997-17553613281423-1920.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/08/b4997-17553613281423-1920.jpg?w=1460 1460w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/08/b4997-17553613281423-1920.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/08/b4997-17553613281423-1920.jpg 1920w">
Ederson's future remains unclear
Ederson is considering his future at Manchester City this summer, according to The Guardian. The Brazilian started Saturday's game from the bench, with new signing James Trafford preferred between the sticks.
Speaking on Friday, Pep Guardiola insisted that Ederson hasn't asked to leave.
“Apparently, yeah. Ederson didn’t come to me and said he wanted to leave or he has an offer. All the players here are our players and I want them. What’s going to happen in three weeks [before the window closes], nobody knows,” said Guardiola.
Ederson registered 13 clean sheets from 40 games last season, and is under contract until 2026.
Why did you not like this content?
Cancel Submit
Was this article helpful?
like selected
avatar selected
Thank You for feedback
About the author
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,
Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9500 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 21 million reads.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.
Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.
Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.
Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.
Know More
Quick Links
More from Sportskeeda
Edited by Deepungsu Pandit