Rayan Cherki
CAMRW
France23 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
CAM
Attacking midfieldMain
3,780 min · 80 apps · 36 starts
RW
Right wing
1,798 min · 22 apps · 22 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Manchester City · independent of the season filter
Important
Involvement66%
Performance62%
Through the match on 11 Oct 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Rayan Cherki is a French attacking midfielder whose use of both feet makes his next action difficult to predict. He can carry the ball past an opponent or pass through a narrow gap, often moving infield from the right to find space between midfield and defence.
Born on 17 August 2003, he joined Lyon’s youth system in 2010 after playing at AS Saint-Priest. In September 2018, he scored against Manchester City in the UEFA Youth League. His professional breakthrough followed in 2019, when he made his Ligue 1 debut for Lyon.
His chance creation became especially productive in 2024/25. Eleven Ligue 1 assists put him joint-top of the competition’s assist standings, while eight in the Europa League led that tournament outright. UEFA named him Europa League Young Player of the Season after Lyon reached the quarter-finals.
With France, he won Olympic silver in 2024 before making his senior debut against Spain on 5 June 2025. Introduced during the Nations League semi-final, he scored with a left-footed strike and crossed for Randal Kolo Muani to head home. France’s late recovery still ended in a 5–4 defeat.
Cherki joined Manchester City in June 2025 and helped win the League Cup and FA Cup in 2025/26. His cross led to Nico O’Reilly’s opening goal in the League Cup final against Arsenal. Fellow professionals also selected him for the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for that season.
He then played at the 2026 World Cup, where France finished fourth. He started the third-place match against England, which ended in a 6–4 defeat, adding senior World Cup experience to his earlier Olympic tournament.
The link between his dribbling and passing is central to his game. Premier League analysis of a December 2025 match at Crystal Palace showed him carrying past a challenge, drawing a second defender towards the ball and releasing Phil Foden into space to score. Rather than treating a dribble as an end in itself, that sequence shows how Cherki can use it to open a passing lane.
Latest stats & form
Rayan Cherki currently plays for Manchester City as an attacking midfielder. He has represented France internationally.