Borussia Dortmund thought they were on the winning track several times with Rayan Cherki. In the summer of 2024, BVB was already in pole position with the Frenchman. At that time, his club Olympique Lyon had demanded an almost ridiculous 15 million euros for Cherki.
RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen were also in the mix for the offensive artist, but all Bundesliga clubs ultimately decided against a transfer. In the meantime, Cherki was even excluded from team training in Lyon. He did not want to extend his working paper, which was dated until 2025, which is why OL forced a sale. But the transfer fee was too high for BVB, things went cold and Cherki extended his contract for another season.
City gets the contract
Almost a year ago, the black and yellow dared to make another advance. Cherki, according to the agreement with OL, could move for 22.5 million euros. BVB was prepared to pay this sum, and Cherki himself also gave the green light for the transfer. This time, at the last moment, John Textor slammed the door shut just before deadline day. “The offer from Dortmund was communicated disrespectfully, was well below the market value and was poorly timed. Rayan Cherki will remain an important part of our team until the end of the 2024/25 season”said the then OL President.
The 22-year-old stayed in Lyon again – and then went to Manchester City for 36.5 million last summer. Since then, those responsible in Dortmund have been shown week after week what kind of player they were missing out on. Cherki is now a French national player and a top performer for the Skyblues. In 19 games he has scored five goals and eight assists so far; against Nottingham Forest (2-1) on Saturday he delighted the fans with a goal, an assist and his astonishing lightness and two-footedness.
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Cherki was brought up to the pros at a young age and was considered a great talent early on. He has now long since surpassed this status and is among the world’s best with his achievements. The flexible offensive player, who can play on the wings as well as on the ten and in the center forward, is under contract in Manchester until 2030. He is already worth many times the transfer fee paid. An expensive oversight by the Bundesliga clubs and especially BVB.
