Ligue 1 and Manchester City: A History
Rayan Cherki has just joined Manchester City from Olympique Lyonnais, but how many other players have made the leap across the Channel? Find out more in our latest article.
A long history
Since Englishman Clive Allen moved from Girondins de Bordeaux to Manchester City in the summer of 1989, just ten months after arriving in France, there have been 17 players, including Cherki, who have joined the Manchester club directly from Ligue 1 McDonald's.
Including Abdukodir Khusanov, a revelation in the first half of the 24/25 season with RC Lens who left for the Premier League last winter, the Citizens are more frequently recruiting players from Ligue 1 McDonald's. In any case, more so than in the era when the team was not a top player in the Premier League, except during the Kevin Keegan era (2001-2005).
There is the 20-year-old Uzbek, and before him Savinho, who arrived from ESTAC Troyes at the same age in July 2024, and Jérémy Doku, 21, who joined a year earlier, and have all impressed upon their arrival at City. The latter, who arrived from Stade Rennais, was the second in history after Swedish goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson (06/07), also a Red Devil, having been an international since September 2020.
Doku, not such a risky bet
Unlike Rayan Cherki, who played an impressive season with Olympique Lyonnais at 21, both in the top flight and the Europa League, Jérémy Doku was still a diamond to be polished upon his arrival in Britain. This didn't stop him from quickly winning over Pep Guardiola, notably by scoring in his second appearance in September 2023. "When you buy a young player like him for several years, you have to be patient. I didn't expect him to play like he did today in his second game for City," the Spanish coach commented at the time. In Ligue 1 McDonald's, Jérémy Doku had played 75 matches with SRFC, but only 20 as a starter, scoring 10 goals, intermittently revealing the extent of his talent with his incredible ability to eliminate players by dribbling. A lack of consistency that did not cause "MC" to hesitate at all.
The Most Surprising: Khuzanov
Abdukodir Khusanov was an even more unexpected move than the Belgian international's. A complete unknown upon his arrival in the Nord in July 2023, the defender needed only 24 appearances in Ligue 1 McDonald's and 29 minutes of play in the Champions League to catch the eye of the Citizens, who pounced on him, seduced by his power and powerful attacks. "He has a special quality. Really special. He's very fast and he brings his passion," Guardiola explained last April. Heavily used in the first weeks after his arrival, including his first career Champions League start (at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid), due to numerous absences, the Uzbek then joined the Manchester United bench.
Guardiola looks to AS Monaco...
Since taking over at Manchester City in February 2016, Pep Guardiola has signed six players who previously played in Ligue 1 McDonald's. Their common denominator is that they were all young at the time of their transfers.
The first players the Catalan tactician brought in were Monaco's Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva (both 23 years old), fresh from Ligue 1 McDonald's, but more importantly, who had beaten City in the last 16 of the Champions League a few months earlier. Seeking a first Premier League title after two defeats, "Pep" achieved it by reaching 100 points in the first season of the French full-back, who only played in seven matches (torn cruciate ligament), and the Portuguese.
Keegan WINs wITH Benarbia
The other period when Manchester City took an active interest in Ligue 1 McDonald's players dates back to the very beginning of the 21st century, when Manchester City was struggling to establish itself in the English top flight.
Under Kevin Keegan, former Ballon d'Or winner in 1978 and 1979, the Citizens brought in nine "French" players. But with more varied profiles than under the Spanish coach. Like the first of them, who was very experienced. In mid-September 2001, Ali Bernarbia, at 33, was the experienced player the English coach would rely on to lead the club back to the Premier League. The mission would be accomplished with a title, even though Keegan didn't know the Algerian at all when he signed. It was his assistant, Arthur Fox, who advised him to sign him. To convince him, he told him that Benarbia had "single-handedly destroyed" Newcastle with Monaco (3-0, with a double in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals). Arriving on a free, Benarbia finished his first season as City's best player and a member of the English 2nd Division's team of the season. It was a successful adaptation that Alioune Touré, who arrived from Nantes in the 2002 winter transfer window (1 match), did not share.
Anelka, the Star Recruit
Having returned to the Premier League, Manchester City and Keegan were keeping an eye on the French league. Two more players will join Benarbia -- two other Parisians who were both playing away from the capital on loan: Nicolas Anelka and Sylvain Distin. The latter spent one season at Newcastle and wanted to continue his adventure in England, while Anelka had spent the last six months at Liverpool. The French international striker, who has already achieved European glory at Real Madrid, is proving to be the biggest star to move directly from Ligue 1 McDonald's to Manchester City. Adored by fans, Anelka even topped the scorers' list in his second season, racking up 37 goals in 89 league games for the Sky Blues.
Foé SPENDS his final season with City…
The following season, Manchester City remained a modest team in the league. And three other Ligue 1 McDonald's players arrived at the English club. Only one stood out, namely Marc-Vivien Foé. The Cameroonian played his final season there before his death in June 2023. On loan from OL, he was one of Keegan's key players. This wasn't the case for the other two signings from across the Channel. In January, defender David Sommeil left Bordeaux for City, while OM loaned Djamel Belmadi with an option to buy. The Marseille player won over Kevin Keegan during a trial, but without much impact thereafter, making only eight limited appearances in total…
In the summer of 2003, two other players playing in the French top flight joined the Sky Blues. With 279 Ligue 1 McDonald's appearances in 11 seasons, Antoine Sibierski (29) was a midfielder with plenty of experience. Coming off his best season at RC Lens, with spectacular Champions League matches against AC Milan and Bayern Munich and missing out on the French league title by two points, he nevertheless chose to join Manchester's second-largest club at the time. "When Keegan calls you, you can't refuse!" he explained. And then, he fulfilled a dream by playing in England, especially at a popular club. He quickly found his place there, highlighted by a goal in his first match alongside Anelka.
Midway through the 2003/04 season, City and OM agreed to a central defender swap, with Sommeil moving from Marseille to Manchester and Daniel Van Buyten (26) making the opposite move. A year later, he had rejected a move to Manchester United, not considering himself ready. At City, after a quick and surprising departure from OM, Big Dan failed to establish himself (5 matches), before Keegan's departure as manager in March 2005 ended the trend of French league players at Manchester City, which Pep Guardiola revived a dozen years later, and for which Cherki can write a new chapter starting in 2025/26.
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