Cherki criticised by Rothen, close associate hits back on X

Bilel Ghazi, former L’Équipe journalist and close associate of Rayan Cherki, publicly attacked Jérôme Rothen on X after the RMC pundit questioned the value of the Manchester City midfielder following France’s training camp under Zinedine Zidane.

Rothen had opened hostilities by targeting Cherki’s attitude during the review of the four matches played by Les Bleus. “But stop with Cherki! You’d think he’s Mbappé, Dembélé or Olise,” he said, criticising the player for having “shown off in a press conference” before recalling his first three outings deemed disappointing. “The first 3 matches you made a fool of us?! And so you waited for the last 20 minutes to pull out genius Cherki,” he continued, concluding that the former Lyon player had “not totally convinced to be an undisputed starter”.

These remarks triggered a sharp response from Ghazi. “Show off? That’s your DNA!” he wrote in a first message, adding that Rothen’s “recurring caricatural posture” on the subject was even highlighted on his own panel. In a second message, he drove the point home: “You’re still the only guy ‘working’ in a media outlet who criticises a football player for not being a lukewarm tap. Because you don’t understand anything or to cause harm?”

The controversy comes in a context of mixed results for Cherki during this training camp. Used as a midfielder, he did not fully convince in his first three appearances, before a notable substitute appearance on Monday against Belgium alongside Désiré Doué and Michael Olise. While some observers believe he has the ideal profile to accompany Lucas Da Cunha and Eduardo Camavinga in midfield, his status within the national team remains subject to debate.