The 34-year-old, now playing for Santos in Brazil, expressed concern about the direction of modern football and the effect of physical conditioning on technical players.
"Football has changed. Today, we see very few players with exceptional ball skills, like Vini Jr., Rodrygo, Rayan Cherki — it's just a handful.
"Football is now more focused on power and intensity. That's why we're losing a whole generation of players with exceptional ball skills: dribblers. When you start working on your strength instead, you lose some of your talent."
Cherki joined Manchester City from Lyon last summer and has been making steady progress in his first season in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old has registered three goals and three assists across all competitions, earning praise from his manager Pep Guardiola, who described him as one of the most talented players he has ever worked with, and from France captain Kylian Mbappé, who called him "a special talent."
Cherki has spoken publicly about his own philosophy, citing Neymar, Ronaldinho and Eden Hazard as the players whose style inspired him. His emergence gives the tribute an added dimension, with one of the generation he grew up idolising now returning the praise.