Rayan Cherki

Mathis Rayan Cherki (French pronunciation: ​[ʃɛʁki]; Arabic: رايان شرقي‎; born 17 August 2003) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Lyon.

Rayan Cherki
Cherki with Lyon in 2019
Personal information
Full name Mathis Rayan Cherki
Date of birth (2003-08-17) 17 August 2003
Place of birth Lyon, France
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Lyon
Number 18
Youth career
2009–2010 Saint-Priest
2010–2019 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Lyon II 9 (5)
2019– Lyon 6 (0)
National team‡
2018– France U16 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 February 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 October 2019

Early life

Cherki was born on 17 August 2003 in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, France. Both of Cherki's parents are of Algerian descent; his father, Fabrice, is also of Italian descent, with Fabrice's maternal grandmother moving to France from Bari, Apulia.[1][2][3]

Club career

Cherki is a product of the youth academy of Lyon, and is considered one of their best ever prospects. He began playing with their reserve side in the Championnat National 2 at the age of 15.[4] On 7 July 2019, Cherki signed his first professional contract with Lyon until 2022.[5] Cherki made his professional debut with Lyon in a 0–0 Ligue 1 tie with Dijon FCO on 19 October 2019.[6]

After scoring 4 goals in the 2019–20 UEFA Youth League, he made his senior European debut on 27 November 2019 in a Champions League group game against FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. He substituted Maxwel Cornet in the 74th minute of a 0–2 loss.[7]

On 4 January 2020, Cherki scored his first senior goal as a substitute in a 7–0 win over Bourg-Péronnas in the Coupe de France, becoming the youngest ever player to score a senior goal for Lyon, aged 16 years and 140 days.[8] On 18 January, he was involved in all four of Lyon's goals in a 4–3 win over Nantes in another Coupe de France match; he scored a brace, and assisted the other two goals.[9]

International career

Born in France to parents of Algerian and Italian descent, Cherki chose to represent his native country internationally. He played for the France national under-16 team twice in 2018, in two friendly games against Denmark.[10]

Career statistics

Club
As of 9 February 2020[11]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lyon 2019–20 Ligue 1 60332010—123
Career total 6033201000123

References
  1. JuventusNews24, Redazione (2020-02-24). "Calciomercato Juve, il consiglio di Matuidi: «È un giocatore di grande talento»". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  2. "Cherki, un joyau que la fédération doit viser: Toute l'actualité sur liberte-algerie.com". Liberte Algerie.
  3. "Rayan Cherki (OL), une entreprise familiale façon Kylian Mbappé - Foot - L1 - OL". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  4. "Qui est Rayan Cherki, le grand espoir du football français ?". www.cnews.fr (in French). 20 January 2020.
  5. "Rayan Cherki signs first professional contract with OL". www.OL.fr. Olympique Lyonnais. 7 July 2019.
  6. "Olympique Lyonnais vs. Dijon - 19 October 2019 - Soccerway". ca.soccerway.com.
  7. "Zenit v Lyon game report". UEFA. 27 November 2019.
  8. "After Bourg – OL (CDF) : Rayan Cherki, the youngest scorer in the history of OL". www.OL.fr. Olympique Lyonnais. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  9. "Cherki praised as teenage sensation stars in Lyon win". www.ligue1.com. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  10. "Joueur - Rayan CHERKI - FFF". www.fff.fr (in French). Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  11. "France - R.CHERKI - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
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