Rayan Cherki might be registering a goal and assist every 72 minutes in a Manchester City shirt – another show-stopping afternoon in Nottingham on Saturday to go with the others – but his finest performance was not on grass. In fact, it was holding a mic, not wearing boots.
With flair around the dinner table as well as the penalty area, Cherki’s initiation song back in June brought players to their feet and took the roof off a five-star hotel, Beach Club, in Florida’s rich and retiring coastal district of Boca Raton. French rap doesn’t normally get much of an airing around there.
That night during the Club World Cup, an all-staff meal, is something Pep Guardiola was looking back on when he revealed the extent to which City’s failed tournament in America last summer has acted as a foundation for an ascent back to challenging for the title.
Cherki and a number of new signings lifted the mood. New assistant Pep Lijnders raised standards in training. Now assured that his City group will fight Arsenal for this crown – pumped to do so by reigniting their relationship with the travelling supporters – Guardiola feels ready to properly reflect on the process of recapturing themselves.
‘Last season, how many times did you see me here judging and criticising the club?’ Guardiola said. ‘Never, ever. I could, I have big numbers in my career as a manager. It’s not about (blaming) you or you or you, it was something… something was in the fog in Manchester, surrounding our training centre.
‘Energy, energy, energy. We lost it last season. We started to train better, compete better. After that we can talk about three at the back, four at the back, wingers or full backs – that is all b***. We needed energy and then you have a good environment.
Pep Guardiola has restored his Manchester City side to the Premier League title race, banishing ‘the fog’ of a disappointing 2024-25
Summer signing Rayan Cherki, seen here celebrating his winner at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, has been one of the stars of the newlook City
City’s return to the upper echelons of the Premier League has been fuelled by the reigniting of their relationship with their travelling supporters
‘It doesn’t mean you are going to win but that you are able to recognise the team. Now it is eight victories in a row. It is not easy but we’re competing. We have to improve, absolutely, but this mindset is better.’
A lifting fog, bouncier mood, was evident in Boca Raton and City’s players were happy to be worked hard, some of the training sessions going well over 90 minutes in gruelling heat. They saw their families most days – the original plan was only on rest days – and made the 45-minute journey to Miami’s South Beach. Cherki appeared at home down there. Some golf – Marcus Bettinelli plays off 10 – half a mile of private beach, yoga in the sand.
But above all, it was just a few weeks to get to know new faces and foster some spirit. Guardiola insisted that the Club World Cup marked the start of the new season rather than the end of the last, yet then when they squandered countless chances in an embarrassing 4-3 elimination by Al Hilal, the crushing disappointment felt eerily familiar.
When a sullen Guardiola wandered on to Brighton’s pitch after consecutive league defeats six weeks later, seemingly with no answer to how the hosts had turned the game on its head, what had been forged 4,000 miles away felt much further away.
Guardiola accepts that he and Lijnders had not yet worked out how some players were best deployed and who was best suited to what. And in hindsight that is perfectly reasonable, although at the time the alarm bells were deafening.
The backroom team held talks with the players, asking their opinion on how best they can press – what is deemed too risky and noticing that asking Erling Haaland to occupy half-spaces was not working. ‘Managers are not magicians,’ Guardiola said. ‘It’s not click your fingers and everything is clear.’
They did change bits and with the positive experience in America in the bank, City are looking more than competitive across the winter. It’s setting up a fascinating five months from here.
‘When we went out to Al Hilal, it wasn’t the fact that we didn’t win,’ City’s boss added. ‘I was p*** off because we were good there, good with the guys training, good with the competition.
City’s Club World Cup camp in the United States laid the foundations for the success we’re now seeing, with new assistant Pep Lijnders a breath of fresh air
Cherki (left) took the roof off City’s five-star hotel in Boca Raton, Florida with his initiation song at an all-staff meal
‘The place we were, in front of the beach. Everyone was happy. Made a lot of dinners, a lot of talks, what we have to do next season. We wanted to extend it, just to live that.’
Guardiola had a lengthy conversation about the evolution of the squad with Lijnders, coach James French, director of football Hugo Viana, his predecessor Txiki Begiristain and confidant Manel Estiarte out in Florida.
Begiristain and Estiarte were the men who could offer additional insight into whether moods had actually altered or if the big yellow thing in the sky was acting as an illusion.
‘We turned around and said something changed, something (you can feel),’ Guardiola said. ‘You’ll never be happy all the time but never sad all the time either. You have to realise why. There is the sentence, right? This too shall pass.’
