A youth product ofReal Madrid, he made his debut forthe reserves in 2009 and with the first team in 2012. He then hadloan spells atSevilla,Villarreal andValencia before joining Villarreal permanently in 2016, and returned to Valencia on loan two years later. In June 2019, he signed permanently for the latter.
Having earned 45caps and scored 23 goals in its youth categories, Cheryshev made his debut for Russia in 2012. He was a participant at the2018 World Cup, scoring four goals as the team reached the quarter-finals with him as one of the tournament's top scorers, andEuro 2020.
Cheryshev joinedReal Madrid in 2002, and completed his formative years in their academy.[7] Still a junior, he appeared in nineSegunda División games withReal Madrid Castilla during the2008–09 season; it was also during this time he formed a long-lasting friendship with future Spanish national team playerNacho.[8]
Over the next two years, Cheryshev played 61 matches and scored 11 goals for the reserve side. He was an important attacking unit asthe latter campaign ended in promotion toSegunda División after a five-year absence.[9]
Cheryshev made his debut in division two on 17 August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes of the 2–1 away loss againstVillarreal.[10] On 27 November, he played his official game with the first team, in a 3–0 home win (7–1 on aggregate) overAlcoyano in theround of 32 of theCopa del Rey.[11][12]
In September 2013, Cheryshev was loaned to fellow top-tierSevilla for the remainder ofthe campaign with the possibility of a permanent deal.[13][14] As a result of persistent injury concerns, he made only four league appearances and theAndalusians opted not to exercise the option, with the player joining Villarreal on loan for2014–15 instead.[15]
Cheryshev scored on his debut for Villarreal on 24 August 2014, netting the second goal in a 2–0 win atLevante.[16] Having recovered from the injuries which plighted his time at his previous team, he thrived atEl Madrigal and netted seven times from 40 appearances in all competitions.[17][18][19]
Returned to theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium, Cheryshev made his debut in the top flight for Real Madrid on 19 September 2015, playing 13 minutes in the 1–0 defeat ofGranada.[20] He scored his first competitive goal for them on 2 December, featuring 45 minutes in a 3–1 away victory overCádiz in theSpanish Cup's round of 32.[21] However, his appearance in the match drew controversy as he was ineligible for selection after having collected threeyellow cards in theprevious edition of the tournament, and resulted in Real Madrid being expelled from the tournament; presidentFlorentino Pérez claimed that theRoyal Spanish Football Federation had not informed the club that the player was suspended and challenged the action taken against the team, though he was unsuccessful.[22][23]
On 1 February 2016, Cheryshev was loaned toValencia until June.[24][25] He made his debut two days later, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 7–0 away loss againstBarcelona in the semi-finals of the domestic cup.[26] He scored his only goal on 13 February, when he headed home in a 2–1 win overEspanyol at theMestalla Stadium.[27]
On 15 June 2016, Cheryshev returned to Villarreal on a permanent deal where he signed a contract until 2021.[28][29] On 14 August 2018, he returned to Valencia on loan,[30] scoring twice duringthe season[31][32] to help to a fourth-place finish.[33]
Cheryshev joined Valencia permanently on 29 June 2019, for a fee of €6 million.[34] Three years later, following a spell marred by injury problems,[35][36] he left after his contract expired.[37]
On 31 August 2022, Cheryshev signed a two-year deal withVenezia with the option for an additional season.[38] He scored twice in his thirdSerie B appearance, a 4–1 away win againstCagliari on 1 October.[39]
Prior to making his international debut withRussia, Cheryshev was also eligible to representSpain as he held dual nationality.[41][42] In a 2011 interview withMarca he indicated that he felt more Spanish than Russian, but accepted a call up to the Russian team in November 2012.[4][43] He made his debut eight days later in a 2–2friendly draw with theUnited States, the same opposition his father Dmitri had played against 20 years earlier.[44]
Cheryshev played his first competitive game on 14 August 2013, when he came on as a half-timesubstitute in a2014 FIFA World Cupqualifier againstNorthern Ireland in Belfast; after just five minutes on the pitch, he had to be stretchered off in an eventual 1–0 loss.[45] He was called up to a provisional 25-man squad for the finals on 16 May 2014, being the only player present not playing his club football in Russia.[46] He was, however, left out ofFabio Capello's final list and also later missed theUEFA Euro 2016 tournament due to injury.[47][48]
After an absence of more than two years, Cheryshev appeared for the national team again on 27 March 2018 in a friendly withFrance.[49][50] On 11 May, he was included in an extended squad forthat year's World Cup,[51] also being named as one of the final 23 players.[52] He made his debut inthe competition on 14 June, replacing the injuredAlan Dzagoev midway through the first half of the group stage opener againstSaudi Arabia inMoscow and scoring twice in a 5–0 win.[53] He scored his third goal of the tournament againstEgypt in a 3–1 victory,[54][55] adding another in the quarter-finals when he curled a strike pastCroatia'sDanijel Subašić from just outside the 18-yard area to open the scoring, but in an eventual 4–3penalty shoot-out loss.[56]
Cheryshev made a preliminary 30-man squad forEuro 2020 in May 2021.[57] On 2 June, he was included in the final squad.[58] He came on forDaler Kuzyayev after the latter was stretchered off in the first group game againstBelgium, spending 33 minutes on the field before being himself replaced in a 3–0 defeat;[59] according to managerStanislav Cherchesov, he was substituted because he "did not fit into the game".[60] He did not take the field in the following two matches, with the country being eliminated in the group stage.[61][62]
^"26 игроков в сборной России" [26 players in the national team] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 6 November 2012. Archived fromthe original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved6 November 2012.
^"Состав сборной России на ЕВРО-2020" [Russia national team line-up for EURO-2020] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 2 June 2021. Retrieved2 June 2021.
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