Rayan Cherki has been regarded as one of the greatest talents in European football for years, a fact that Xherdan Shaqiri will also feel at some point. On his debut for France's national team, the 21-year-old lives up to his reputation.
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- Lyon's own Rayan Cherki delivers an impressive debut for France in the Nations League semi-final and almost leads his team to a major turnaround after coming on as a substitute.
- The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the biggest talents in European football and has been the youngest player in Lyon's Ligue 1 history since 2019.
- At the age of 18, he is already battling with Xherdan Shaqiri for a regular place at Lyon. Now he is about to leave for Manchester City.
Rayan Cherki has made his breakthrough. The Olympique Lyon youngster has had his best season to date, scoring 12 goals and providing 20 assists in 44 appearances. The reward: Cherki is named top assist provider and dribbler of the year in Ligue 1 - and receives his first call-up for the French national team.
However, the dribbling artist had a different idea of his debut for the Équipe Tricolore. In the Nations League semi-final, France already had their backs to the wall when Cherki entered the pitch in the 63rd minute with the score at 1:4. Just four minutes later, Lamine Yamal scored the fifth goal for Spain.
Impressive debut as a substitute
But Cherki did not let this get him down - on the contrary. With just over 10 minutes remaining, the debutant launched France's comeback with a dream goal, shortly afterwards he initiated the 3:5 with a sugar pass, before providing the assist for the 4:5 with a perfect cross in stoppage time.
In the end, it was not enough to equalize - but the 21-year-old left an impression. "He changed everything. His passes always provided relief and space," wrote Eurosport, for example. "The only downer: that he didn't play from the start."
Cherki lives up to his reputation. For years, he has been regarded as one of the greatest talents in European football. In 2010, at the age of just 7, he transferred to Lyon's youth academy and was already playing for the reserve team in the French fourth division at the age of 15. He made his debut at the highest level in October 2019 at the age of 16 years and 63 days, becoming the youngest player in Lyon's Ligue 1 history.
Shaqiri's rival
Cherki's status at Lyon is growing year on year. Xherdan Shaqiri also felt the effects of this in 2021 when, during his time in France, he battled with the 18-year-old Cherki for a regular place in Lyon's attack - and left after just six months to move to the USA.
Cherki, on the other hand, stays and develops more and more into a top performer. This did not go unnoticed by the big European clubs. At the beginning of the last season, he was temporarily dropped by his home club because they did not want to lose the exceptional player without paying a transfer fee. The expiring contract was therefore only extended by one year until 2026 last September.
"That shows that football can be ungrateful, because I gave everything to the club. Despite the interest, I signed my first professional contract there, extended it several times and always gave my word that I wouldn't leave on a free transfer. And yet some people tried to harm me in return," Cherki said in a recent interview with Transfermarkt.
Departure to Manchester?
After 185 games, the homegrown player will definitely turn his back on the club of his heart this summer. "I did what I wanted to do. To be a true Lyon player and give everything for my club. I didn't abandon ship when it sank. I stayed, I gritted my teeth," says Cherki, adding: "I cried, I laughed, I was scared. But a good man has to be like that, it's part of his DNA."
Now the exceptional talent is flirting with a new challenge. And it will be a tough one. Alongside Dortmund, PSG and Liverpool, Manchester City have also come knocking with star coach Pep Guardiola - and are apparently on the verge of winning the race for Cherki.
"You know my answer, everyone knows it. We still have one game to play. But after that it's all done," Cherki let slip after the international match against Spain, announcing: "I'm ready for any system. I work physically and mentally every day to be ready."
