Rayan Cherki and Florian Wirtz have been pitted against each other since they signed for Manchester City and Liverpool respectively.
However, after both players’ respective Premier League debuts, it’s safe to say that the Frenchman came out on top as he scored eight minutes into his cameo against Wolves — leading Pep Guardiola to describe Cherki as “unbelievable”.
Florian Wirtz, on the other hand. had his fair share of struggles during Liverpool’s 4-2 win against AFC Bournemouth, which led Arne Slot to hook him off for eventual match-winner Federico Chiesa.
Sky Blues fans poked fun at Wirtz, who rejected Manchester City and hailed Cherki as he shone on Saturday.
Man City fans claim Rayan Cherki is better than Florian Wirtz
One Manchester City fan claimed that in Cherki, Pep Guardiola and Co have signed the superior player to Wirtz and that too, for a cheaper fee, writing: “Liverpool spent way more for a player who is a tier below. Feel bad for them a little ngl [not going to lie.”
A second City supporter claimed that the Liverpool fans who believe the German are fighting a lost cause, stating: “It’s sad watching them try and fight about it. You’d think they learn from [Darwin] Nunez and [Erling] Haaland.”
A third fan claimed that just because Cherki cost Manchester City £33 million while the Reds paid £116 million (Sky Sports) to secure Wirtz’s services clouded plenty of opinions, writing: “Rayan Cherki has always been a higher-volume creator and a better footballer in many, many aspects than Florian Wirtz. People with brilliant talent ID weren’t fooled by price tags. Thank you, Hugo Viana. You’ve changed my life.”
Another City supporter called Liverpool fans out by stating that it took the 21-year-old a few minutes to outperform the former Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, claiming: “Liverpool fans were laughing about Cherki on the bench when we were just trying to prove that he only needs 10 minutes to outshine their boy.”
A fifth fan added to the comparisons by simply writing: “Wirtz this, Wirtz that, Cherki is the real deal.”
Finally, a sixth Manchester City fan believes that Rayan Cherki was going under the radar due to Wirtz’s big-money move to Anfield, writing: “The way everyone just disregarded Cherki and called Wirtz an automatic top five player in the league was hilarious.”
City supporters are understandably giddy as the former Lyon maverick looked like the real deal against Wolves.
Rayan Cherki and Florian Wirtz stats compared on their Premier League debuts
All both sets of fanbases can do now is wait and see how their respective attacking midfielders fare for the rest of the season.
However, based on the current stats, the City attacker has the edge.
| STATS ON PREMIER LEAGUE DEBUT | FLORIAN WIRTZ VS BOURNEMOUTH | RAYAN CHERKI VS WOLVES |
| GOALS | 0 | 1 |
| PASSES IN THE FINAL THIRD | 12 | 3 |
| PASSES COMPLETED | 38/51 (75%) | 18/20 (90%) |
| MINUTES PLAYED | 82 | 18 |
Manchester City fans perhaps have every reason to be smug about Cherki’s display compared to Wirtz, considering he played just 18 minutes, scored a belter, played three passes into the final third and had a pass accuracy of 90%.
On the other hand, the Bundesliga winner misplaced 13 of his 51 passes, did not score or assist a goal and while he played 12 passes into the final third, the Liverpool technician had a Premier League debut to forget.
