Rayan Cherki #24

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Cherki has always expressed his disdain for stats. It is clear where his focus lies. "Robots are good but magic is better," he recently told France Football. "It's good to complete 99% of your passes, but it's even better to produce five or six moments of genius. It's frustrating because many coaches look for players who run the most or jump the highest. For me, that's not football. My aim is to make old-style football fashionable again." Cherki, despite his best intentions, may not have the power to define where football is heading, but he does have the ability to bring us joy when we watch it and he has done that ever since breaking through at Lyon, only now he does so with greater effect and rightly earns greater plaudits. He arrives at the World Cup after a superb season at Manchester City, which included a sensational solo goal against Arsenal in the league and some showboating against the same opponents in the League Cup final. Not everyone enjoyed his keepy-uppies, though, with Ben White clattering into him moments later.

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