Not everybody shares that opinion, with many happy to see Cherki breaking from the norm of robotic professionals in the modern era. Former City midfielder Barry is a big fan of Cherki, but can appreciate why some - including Guardiola - will be urging caution.
Speaking exclusively to GOAL courtesy of BetMGM, Barry said when asked for his take on Cherki’s antics and what Guardiola will be saying behind closed doors: “It's such a tough argument. As fans watching it, it's great to see players doing different tricks, exciting us. I wouldn't sit here and say, ‘no, you can't be doing that’ because it's great to watch. I love watching the flamboyance and the ability of these players that can do stuff like that on the pitch.
“Pep's obviously seen it from certain players over the years. If he's producing the numbers posted by certain players that Pep's worked with over the years, then I'm sure he's going to allow him to do that.
“I think Pep will be making a point, ‘you're not quite ready to do that at the moment’. That's how I see it. I think keep scoring goals, keep playing how you've been playing, win some more trophies here, then the keepy-uppies, you can do them as often as you want. I'm sure that's the point he's trying to make, rather than be like, ‘don't do that’.”