Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s contribution to Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph places him among the leading candidates for the Ballon d’Or, after UEFA named him the competition’s best player.
The Georgia international helped PSG win the Champions League in the 2025/26 season, as the Parisian club lifted Europe’s premier club trophy for a second successive year. His influence went well beyond being part of the winning squad.
Kvaratskhelia scored 10 goals and provided six assists in 16 matches. Those figures came from a player who was responsible not only for creating and finishing attacks, but also for pressing, tracking back and supporting his team defensively.
His impact was particularly clear during the knockout stages. He scored three times across two matches against Chelsea, found the net in the quarter-final against Liverpool and scored twice in the first semi-final against Bayern Munich, a match Paris Saint-Germain won 5-4.
He then became the first player to record a goal or an assist in seven consecutive knockout matches during a single Champions League campaign.
Kvaratskhelia did not score in the final against Arsenal, but he won the penalty converted by Ousmane Dembele. That goal brought Paris Saint-Germain level before the French side went on to win the shootout.
His work without the ball has also been central to his importance for manager Luis Enrique. Alongside his attacking qualities, Kvaratskhelia contributes through pressing, winning possession and helping his defenders, rather than leaving those duties to team-mates.
The Ballon d’Or voting criteria place individual performances, including their decisive nature, ahead of team achievements. Kvaratskhelia can point to both individual recognition and a series of major honours.
Alongside the Champions League, he has won the French championship, the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the French Super Cup.
Other contenders have strong claims. Harry Kane has scored heavily, Lamine Yamal impressed for both club and country at the World Cup, and Kylian Mbappe once again produced outstanding goalscoring numbers. Their achievements do not diminish Kvaratskhelia’s case, but neither should his Champions League campaign be overlooked.
Georgia did not play at the World Cup, which may strengthen the arguments of players who excelled at that tournament. However, Kvaratskhelia’s supporters argue that a player should not need to come from a country with a population of tens of millions to win an individual award.
The winner will be announced by the jury on 26 October. Kane and Yamal may be selected, but Kvaratskhelia’s record in the Champions League means he cannot be treated as a peripheral figure in the race.
As the competition’s leading player and a winner of the tournament, Kvaratskhelia has a compelling case to be judged on the quality and influence of his football rather than the scale of his reputation or the prominence of his passport.
