Footage of Man City board debating if they should sign Rayan Cherki or not is fascinating

Those behind the scenes at Manchester City raised serious concerns over Rayan Cherki's mentality before deciding to make a move for the player, a new documentary has revealed.

Cherki joined the Citizens from Ligue 1 side Lyon in June last year for £34 million, with the attacking midfielder penning a five-year contract.

Given the finances involved, many onlookers viewed the deal as a great piece of business, but Manchester City's recruitment team had doubts as to whether the "chaotic" Cherki was the right fit for their project.

In the new four-part Amazon Prime Video documentary A Beautiful Obsession, director of football Hugo Viana can be seen chatting about Cherki to his colleagues in a boardroom at the club's training ground.

To start, a member of City’s recruitment team can be seen discussing his data-driven findings.

“We'd melt those 43 metrics down into just seven numbers," he says when talking about potential additions. "And then based on those seven numbers, we can cluster similar players together. Number 10. So this is similarity to peak Kevin De Bruyne. Do you see already?”

As seen in the footage below, Cherki's name is then brought up in conversation, with Viana suggesting that the Frenchman could mould into a De Bruyne-like player. However, he soon points to his head after mentioning the player's mentality.

“Then you have Cherki," said Viana. "He could be Kevin’s profile in two years' time. But the mentality is…"

Away from the boardroom, Viana goes on to share his thoughts on the player. "The information on Cherki was not so, so positive. I will be very honest,” said Viana.

Ferran Soriano, who is City's chief executive officer, soon adds: “Everybody knew about his abilities, but there was this idea that he was chaotic", a comment that is then followed by a clip of Cherki making an obscene gesture to the Old Trafford crowd.

Later on in the documentary, a voice message sent to City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak by Soriano gives a further insight into what they've discovered about the then-Lyon playmaker.

"The updates on Cherki," he says. "Txiki (Begiristain) and Hugo (Viana) talked to several coaches. There was one that gave a bad report but when he was very young, so they're getting convinced that maybe his behaviour is just a myth."

Al-Mubarak responds by calling on the club’s recruitment team to act before it's too late.

“Hey, Fernando, we have to think really how to unlock this, because now it’s clear that this is becoming undervalued,” he says. “Deals like this, you keep them open for long, and people will wake up at some point.”

Soriano then confirms that they'd had a conversation with Cherki's agent and, despite receiving approaches from other teams, the player wanted to speak to Pep Guardiola.

Pep Guardiola was left in tears during argument with Kyle Walker

As well as Cherki's arrival, the new documentary details what happened ahead of Kyle Walker's much-talked-about departure.

Walker asked to leave City in January 2025 and "expressed an interest to go and play abroad" after seven trophy-laden years at the club.

But a month before announcing his intentions publicly, Walker accused an emotional Pep Guardiola of singling him out after they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.

“You keep saying my name, every meeting,” Walker screams. “Every f***ing meeting it’s my name.”

Guardiola then suggested Walker’s name came up as a result of his captaincy. "You didn’t want me to be a captain," Walker replied, adding: "I’ve reacted to someone else, I’ve lost the ball, you somehow bring my name into it.”

The former Barcelona manager went on to deliver an emotional speech to his players. “If I am a problem, you have to tell me,” a tearful Guardiola said. "I won’t stay here for the money or just for the fact of staying."

Guardiola continued: “I extended the contract because I want to be with you, I want to fight in that position. I don’t want you to feel like I’m leaving and running away from you.

“I don’t want to have the feeling that the pieces fall down. And I feel ‘No, I want to help you.’ “But if you feel, captains first and then the other ones, that there is a problem? Tell me. It’s not going to change the love I have for all of you. Not one second. But I want to fight. That’s all. I’m sorry.”