Rayan Cherki

Mathis Rayan Cherki (born 17 August 2003) is a French professional footballer who plays as attacking midfielder or left winger for Ligue 1 club Lyon.

Early life
Mathis Rayan Cherki was born on 17 August 2003 in Lyon, Lyon Metropolis. Both of Cherki's parents are of Algerian descent; his father, Fabrice, is also of Italian descent.

Lyon
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. He made his professional debut in a 0–0 Ligue 1 draw against Dijon on 19 October 2019.

After scoring four goals in the 2019–20 UEFA Youth League, he made his senior European debut on 27 November 2019 in a Champions League group stage game against Zenit, aged 16 years and 102 days, in which he substituted Maxwel Cornet in the 74th minute of a 2–0 loss.

On 4 January 2020, Cherki scored his first senior goal as a substitute in a 7–0 win over Bourg-en-Bresse 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.

On 19 August 2020, Cherki was subbed on in a UEFA Champions League match against Bayern Munich. In doing so, he became the youngest-ever player to feature in a UEFA Champions League semi-final. Lyon were knocked out of the competition in that match, losing by a score of 3–0 to the eventual winners.

Cherki scored his first Ligue 1 goal in a 3–2 win over Monaco on 2 May 2021. His goal secured the victory for Lyon in the final minutes of the match.

International career
Cherki is eligible to play for either France, Italy or Algeria, the latter due to his parents' origin. Cherki played for the France national under-16 team twice in 2018, both of which were friendlies against Denmark.

Honours
Lyon
 * Coupe de France runner-up: 2023–24
 * Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 2019–20