Manchester United and Real Madrid were both interested in signing Rayan Cherki before the president Jean-Michel Aulas revealed he committed to a professional contract with Lyon.
Cherki is considered one of the major rising stars in Ligue 1, and while he only played on twelve occasions last season, he scored three goals to become the youngest ever scorer in the club and set up two more, catching the eye with his flair and trust.
Nevertheless, long before he debuted last autumn for Lyon against Dijon, his talent had created ripples throughout Europe and Aulas says that two of the world’s biggest clubs were trying to sign the 16-year-old prodigy.
“He’s a player that’s going to go to the highest level. That is why we have done everything we can to sign him. Real Madrid and Manchester United were the two clubs who became involved when we won his confidence. We want to see him succeed in Lyon. We want to support him and that is why we ‘re trying to get his career moving on. We want him to become not just a leader for our attack in the years to come, but a leader in the academy,” Aulas told Telefoot.
Meanwhile, this summer, OL is facing the possibility of losing another of their youth products, with Houssem Aouar being linked to a possible move to Manchester City or Juventus.
However, Aulas has provided an update on the status of the creative midfielder and says there is nothing yet to report.
“We have not had any proposals or even a request for any information about him for the moment, but I know many clubs might be interested in him,” he said.
Lyon faces a summer of uncertainty with the contract from Memphis Depay up next summer, while their only route to Europe next season is to win the Champions League.
They have a 1-0 advantage over Juventus in the European competition, after the first leg of their last-16 tie.
