Khvicha Kvaratskhelia says being nominated for the Ballon d’Or already feels like “something special”. The Paris St-Germain forward is on the 30-player shortlist to be named the world’s best player, with the award to be handed out on 26 October. The 25-year-old, who has won back-to-back Champions Leagues with PSG and was the player of the season in the Champions League in 2025-26, is approaching the recognition with pleasure rather than pressure.
“To be a Ballon d’Or contender, it’s already a pleasure to be among these players in the race,” Kvaratskhelia said. “I feel already that I did something special in the last year, I’m really happy and let’s see what’s gonna happen.”
He also spoke about what his nomination could mean for his country. “I’m happy that I represent Georgia, a small country,” he said. “Little kids, they know that even if they are from a small country, they can achieve these things.”
The Ballon d’Or conversation around Kvaratskhelia has drawn a comparison with George Best. Northern Ireland remain the smallest country by population to produce a Ballon d’Or winner, with Best receiving the award in 1968. Kvaratskhelia said he knows of Best and has been told before that his playing style seemed like the Northern Ireland great’s. “What about George Best? I know him, of course,” he said. “Some people a long time ago told me even when I played it seems like him. I’m not sure because he was one of the best in football history and it [the comparison] is a pleasure and I’m proud.”
Northern Ireland play Georgia on Friday in the Nations League, and manager Michael O’Neill used the occasion to reflect on what Best meant to his country. O’Neill, who was not yet born when Best won the Ballon d’Or after a European Cup win with Manchester United, said Best was “an iconic figure in world football” and that Northern Ireland were “very privileged that he came from Northern Ireland. In many ways, he puts our country on the map.”
O’Neill sees a similar national significance in Georgia’s current star. “I think in Georgia, you have that situation now with Kvaratskhelia who I think is a world-class player,” he said. “For me he was probably the best player in the Champions League last season over the whole competition. We obviously have to give him special attention.” O’Neill added that facing any world-class player requires awareness that “he can win the game in a moment, that he can create so much and he can lift his team as well.”
Georgia head coach Willy Sagnol, a former France defender and Les Bleus team-mate of 1998 Ballon d’Or winner Zinedine Zidane, praised Kvaratskhelia’s focus on the collective. Sagnol said the past may have been better when players waited until the end to learn who would win the Ballon d’Or, adding: “Too many times in the last weeks, I see players saying ‘I’m the best, I’m the best, I’m the best’.”
“Khvicha never said that and that’s why I’m very proud to be his head coach,” Sagnol said. “He’s not just about a fantastic football player, but he’s also a fantastic personality who thinks always about the team and not about himself and I’m sure [on Friday] he will show it again.”