Rayan Cherki

Mathis Rayan Cherki (born 17 August 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Lyon. Born in France to parents of Italian and Algerian descent, Cherki represented his native country internationally at youth level.

Born on 17 August 2003 in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, France, Cherki's father Fabrice is of Italian descent, his mother of Algerian descent.

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. On 7 July 2019, Cherki signed his first professional contract with Lyon until 2022. Cherki made his professional debut with Lyon in a 0–0 Ligue 1 tie with Dijon FCO on 19 October 2019.

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.

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. 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.

Born in France to parents of Italian and Algerian 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.

Club

As of 9 February 2020