Georges Mikautadze says Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki is better than Lamine Yamal | OneFootball

Rayan Cherki (22) and Lamine Yamal (18) are two of the most exciting players to watch in the modern game. The latter was Ousmane Dembélé’s (28) closest competitor for the Ballon d’Or last September, however, for Villarreal’s Georges Mikautadze (25), it is Manchester City’s Cherki who is the better player. 

Mikautadze and Cherki played together at Olympique Lyonnais last season. The pair played together on 34 occasions, combining to score on nine occasions. Mikautadze, in order to save the club from financial ruin, departed for Villarreal in the final moments of the transfer window, whilst Cherki left to join Manchester City at the start of the window. 

The latter has excelled since joining the Premier League side and has since cemented his place in the France squad. His former OL teammate also rates him above one of the world’s best, Barcelona forward Yamal. “When you are a football, you love to see this kind of player play,” said the Georgia international in an interview with Canal Plus.

He continued, “Cherki is better than Yamal. Cherki is Cherki. He plays with both feet, and Yamal doesn’t have that too much, even if he uses his right foot. Cherki is ambidextrous, he has the vision, he scores, he can create goals, he can take set pieces, he can do everything.”

Cherki will be looking to prove that during the run-in in the Premier League, as well as at the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Yamal will be hoping to compete in this summer’s competition, too, despite suffering a muscular injury that has ruled him out of the rest of Barcelona’s campaign.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle