From Lyon prodigy to Man City signing: Charting the rise of Cherki

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From catching the eye at Manchester City as an opposition academy player, to starring for Lyon and France, Rayan Cherki's full-circle journey is explored here by football writer James Eastham.

It is almost fatalistic that Cherki has ended up at Manchester City, given the impression he made against them before even turning 16.

On 19 September 2018, Man City's most recent signing made history against the club he now represents. Lyon were the visitors for a UEFA Youth League game, on a windy day at City’s academy stadium.

With eight minutes to play, Cherki came off the bench.

Four minutes later, he scored Lyon’s third in a 4-1 win, meeting a falling cross to side-foot home from 10 yards.

By doing so, he entered the record books: aged just 15 years and 33 days, he became the youngest-ever scorer in UEFA's flagship youth tournament for clubs.

As is the way with prodigies, it was one of several "first to" achievements that Cherki has racked up in his blooming career.

In January 2020, at 16 years and 140 days, he became the youngest-ever goalscorer for Lyon's first team. At 18 years and 60 days, he became the youngest player to make 50 official appearances for Lyon.

The making of Cherki

Born and raised in the Lyon suburbs, Rayan was the third of five boys. He has had tremendous family support around him: his father was a keen amateur footballer, while his mother has played a hands-on role in the various decisions made about her son’s career to date.

Cherki joined the Lyon academy at the age of seven. The club’s formidable local scouting network ensures the majority of talented boys in the region are identified and signed, rather than flourishing elsewhere.

Lyon have a tradition of not only producing top-class footballers - ex-Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette and Chelsea defender Malo Gusto are among their graduates - but, more specifically, players in the attacking midfield or second-striker position Cherki prefers to occupy: former Newcastle United star Hatem Ben Arfa came through their ranks, as did 2018 World Cup winner Nabil Fekir (now playing for Al Jazira Club in the UAE).

From an early age, Cherki's technical skills stood out. He has a perfect first touch, natural balance, and the boundless imagination in tight spaces that lifts supporters from their seats.

Bruno Genesio - Lyon's manager just before Cherki made his first-team debut - was among the first to compare the youngster to Ben Arfa.

Cherki’s hunched running style evokes memories of one of Man City's most-loved legends: Georgi Kinkladze, the Georgia international who thrilled fans at Maine Road in the 1990s.

Unlike Ben Arfa and Kinkladze, Cherki is right-footed, although you can barely tell: he is one of the most two-footed elite players of recent years. Such ability offers him a distinct advantage: when preparing to beat a player, he has the same range of options open to him on his right and left foot.

Or, as Thierry Henry, his France U21 manager in 2023 and 2024, said: "I have never seen a player in history who dribbles as quickly as him with both feet."

Mental resilience

For all of the above, mental strength is arguably Cherki's greatest asset.

From an early age, youth coaches drew attention to his desire to be the best. There is a calm, firm energy to his media dealings that hints at the intensity of his focus.

His inner fortitude came to the fore last year. Named in France’s 2024 Olympic Games squad, Cherki started just one of their six matches, and only played for a few minutes from the bench.

Then, on his return to club duty, he was frozen out of training with Lyon’s first-team squad - put "in the loft" as the French say - until a contract dispute was resolved, returning only in late September.

Such setbacks may have derailed someone less resilient. Not Cherki, who responded emphatically on the pitch. He produced consistently effective performances, playing a decisive role as Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 and reached the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.

He ended the 2024/25 season with a list of accolades to his name: a slot on Ligue 1's five-man Player of the Year shortlist, a place in the Ligue 1 Team of the Season, the top assists provider in both Ligue 1 (with 11) and the Europa League (eight, a record for a player in one season), and the Europa League Young Player of the Season award (succeeding Florian Wirtz).

Breakthrough with the national team

It was no surprise Cherki earned his first France call-up for the UEFA Nations League Finals in Germany this month.

Through Algerian family heritage on his mother and father’s side and Italian on his father’s, he was eligible to play for other countries, but accepted the request from France manager Didier Deschamps.

Sixty-three minutes into France’s semi-final against Spain on 5 June, with Les Bleus trailing 5-1, Cherki came off the bench.

In 30 dazzling minutes, he thrilled the fans in Stuttgart, and millions more watching at home: he scored a stunning left-footed volley from outside the penalty area, set up a goal for fellow substitute Randal Kolo Muani with a perfectly-placed inswinging cross, and created danger on several other occasions through a range of flicks, passes and dribbles.

Cherki’s maiden appearance was arguably the most breathtaking France debut since a certain Zinedine Zidane came off the bench to score twice against the Czech Republic in August 1994.

It means that France now have a trio of playmaking starlets - the others being Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise and Paris Saint-Germain’s Desire Doue - that should make the team fantastic to watch in the months ahead.

The upcoming challenge in Manchester

Having stepped into the senior national team, Cherki may have one eye on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but there is the issue of adapting to life at Man City first.

The relatively small fee for his move has raised eyebrows but in return for extending his contract at Lyon last year, the Ligue 1 club agreed to accept a reduced offer (or, if not, to pay the player compensation).

The modest outlay means Cherki potentially avoids the risk of being mentally burdened by a price tag the way others have been on their arrivals in the Premier League. It may afford him more space to grow into his role within the squad.

Regardless, you sense this will be irrelevant to him. He appears to relish challenges, rather than shying away from them.

Cherki is on a personal journey to be the best he can be, and looks unlikely to be knocked off course.

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