Bacary Sagna has tipped Rayan Cherki to become a future Ballon d'Or winner, praising the Manchester City playmaker's exceptional flair and technical ability. The former France and City defender believes the Lyon academy product represents a rare breed of attacking talent capable of transforming matches through pure creativity and imagination.
Sagna, speaking to Oddschecker, described Cherki as a "showman" whose playing style harks back to the best traditions of Brazilian street footballers. "He's entertaining the whole crowd," Sagna said. "You can tell by the way he plays he is special. He's the type of player you go to the stadium to watch, to be able to witness this level of talent. He's just a joy to watch. He's creative, very natural, and I like that he's always playing with a smile." The former full-back highlighted Cherki's rare gift for unlocking defensive systems through technique alone—a quality increasingly scarce among modern academy graduates.
Street Football Intelligence
What sets Cherki apart, according to Sagna, is his street footballer's instinct—the pure, uncoached dribbling sense that cannot be manufactured. "You can see he's from the street by the way he plays," Sagna explained. "He reminds me of the Brazilian players with the ability to dribble, play and have a good touch. I'm a lover of street football players because it's pure natural skill. I think he can definitely win the Ballon d'Or in the future and he's still got time on his side as he's still very young." Cherki's ability to combine technical excellence with entertainment value positions him among Europe's most promising attacking talents heading into the 2024-25 season.
Beyond individual brilliance, Sagna also weighed in on City's longer-term structure, suggesting Vincent Kompany—now managing Bayern Munich—would be the ideal successor to Pep Guardiola when the time comes. Meanwhile, City sit two points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race, with an FA Cup final against Chelsea looming before domestic league action resumes.
