Rayan Cherki earns Lionel Messi comparison from former OL president but wants to follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘example’ | OneFootball

Rayan Cherki (21) is enjoying the best spell of his career so far. Having broken through at a young age, he has always lacked consistency, which has seen him fall out of favour under previous managers.

However, even despite missing the start of the campaign due to a contract dispute with Olympique Lyonnais, he has earned the trust of current manager Pierre Sage. He has already made 20 appearances this season, including 13 starts, scoring five goals and registering seven assists in that time. In making 13 goal contributions, he has already equalled his record in this metric before the halfway mark of the current campaign.

Output has always been an axis for progression for Cherki. However, has always had the dribbling ability and the capacity to beat his man, as one of his former managers, Bruno Génésio, pointed out in an interview with Téléfoot. “Cherki had a tendancy to overdo it. Now, he has become more effective in his play,” said the current Lille OSC manager.

But whilst becoming more effective, he hasn’t lost his maverick touch and he has now earned a rave comparison from former OL president Jean-Michel Aulas. “Cherki is comparable to (Lionel) Messi in terms of technical quality,” he told Téléfoot.

Like Messi, Cherki prioritises providing moments of technical brilliance. “I am here to provide joy for people and to also enjoy myself too and I think that is what makes the difference, whilst being efficient all the while,” Lyon’s playmaker told Téléfoot.

Cherki to leave Lyon?

However, he is not following Messi’s example, but Cristano Ronaldo’s. “I had lots of idols but the one that I think is the best and the example to follow is Cristiano Ronaldo. Regarding his work and his longevity, that is the example that you have to folow,” said Cherki.

Whilst Aulas believes that it is “too early” to talk about a move away from Lyon for Cherki, the France youth international is, nonetheless, heavily linked with a transfer amid interest notably from Liverpool. However, a departure in the summer currently looks like a more likely hypothesis with OL succeeding in offloading other players and making the necessary sales to appease the DNCG and avoid a puntive relegation to Ligue 2.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle