Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has confirmed he has rejected what he described as an ‘insulting’ bid from Paris Saint-Germain for midfielder Rayan Cherki.
The 19-year-old is one of the club’s most exciting academy graduates in recent years and is just working his way back to full fitness after a tricky struggle with injuries, but PSG have been attempting to lure him away.
Cherki is in the final 18 months of his current contract but Lyon do have the option to extend that by a further year and are in no rush to part ways with the youngster, rejecting a number of bids before firmly ruling a deal out.
“I had a long time with Nasser [Al-Khelaifi, PSG president], who called me on Saturday evening, to find out whether or not we were in negotiations for Rayan Cherki,” Aulas told RMC Sport. “I told him no, and Nasser told me, ‘okay, it’s over’, and he added that PSG would therefore not make a new offer.
“I thank him for this direct and sincere contact. We did not enter into negotiations, but the level of the offer was insulting.”
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PSG are looking to bolster in attack this month and their interest in Zenit Saint-Petersburg winger Malcom has been confirmed by the Russian side’s manager, Sergei Semak.
“They are a good club, one of the best in modern European football,” the Zenit boss said of PSG. “We would never force a player to stay, but Malcom is ready to fulfil the obligations of his contract with us. Today he plays for us.
“We haven’t had an official offer from Paris Saint-Germain so there’s nothing to talk about. There is interest, but we still have to go beyond that.”
