Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia  (ხვიჩა კვარაცხელია ; born 12 February 2001) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club Napoli and the Georgia national team.

Kvaratskhelia started his senior career playing for Dinamo Tbilisi at age 16, before departing to Rustavi where he spent half a season. During his combined three-year tenure at Lokomotiv Moscow and Rubin Kazan, Kvaratskhelia won two consecutive Russian Premier League Best Young Player awards. Following a short spell at Dinamo Batumi, Kvaratskhelia signed for Napoli in 2022, and in his debut season helped the club to reach the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever, and win a first Serie A title in 33 years, finishing as the league's top assist provider. This saw him named Serie A Most Valuable Player and the Champions League's Young Player of the Season.

Early career
Coming through the youth system, Kvaratskhelia began his senior career at Dinamo Tbilisi in 2017, making his senior debut against Kolkheti-1913 Poti, coming on as a 62nd minute substitute in a 1–1 draw on 29 September 2017. In total, Kvaratskhelia made five appearances in all competitions for Dinamo Tbilisi, scoring his first goal in a 1–0 win away to Shukura Kobuleti on 19 November 2017.

In March 2018, Kvaratskhelia left Dinamo Tbilisi as a result of a contract dispute and subsequently signed for Rustavi on a free transfer. In April 2018, Kvaratskhelia was the subject of interest from German champions Bayern Munich and was in attendance for Bayern's 0–0 draw against Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final. During the 2018 Erovnuli Liga season, Kvaratskhelia scored three goals across 18 appearances for Rustavi.

In 2018, The Guardian named Kvaratskhelia among 60 best young players worldwide. On 15 February 2019, Kvaratskhelia joined Russian Premier League (RPL) club Lokomotiv Moscow on loan. He made his league debut on 10 March as an 86th-minute substitute for Jefferson Farfán against Anzhi Makhachkala. On 1 July, Lokomotiv Moscow announced that Kvaratskhelia had left the club after his loan expired. Following the loss of Kvaratskhelia, Lokomotiv Moscow manager Yuri Semin said he was very disappointed after failing to agree on a permanent transfer with Kvaratskhelia as Semin considered him extremely talented.

Rubin Kazan
On 6 July 2019, Kvaratskhelia signed a five-year deal with Rubin Kazan. He played his first game on 15 July against his previous club Lokomotiv, coming on as a substitute in the second half and scoring the equalizer in a 1–1 draw. Kvaratskhelia was named as best player of the match by Rubin fans on the official site of the club.

Overall, his purchase was hailed by several Russian media outlets as the main transfer success for Rubin, who saw the player's market value increased five times in a single season between June 2019 and June 2020. Based on the votes among Rubin supporters, Kvaratskhelia won Player of the Month nomination four times in 2020–21, namely in August, September, October and April.

In early 2021, L'Equipe published a list of 50 best players born in the 21st century, with Kvaratskhelia being the only RPL player to be included.

Dinamo Batumi
On 7 March 2022, FIFA announced that, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, foreign players in Russia could unilaterally suspend their contracts until 30 June, and were allowed to sign with clubs outside of Russia until the same date. On 24 March 2022, Rubin Kazan announced that Kvaratskhelia's contract had been suspended. On the same day, he joined Dinamo Batumi of Georgia.

Kvaratskhelia took part in 11 league matches with Dinamo Batumi, scoring eight times and providing two assists. Erovnuli Liga named him the best player of the second round of the season, which coincided with the period between April and July.

Napoli
On 1 July 2022, Serie A side Napoli confirmed the signing of Kvaratskhelia on a deal lasting until 2027 from Dinamo Batumi for a reported fee of €10–12 million. Kvaratskhelia's debut for the club came on 15 August, in the first matchday of Serie A against Hellas Verona; he scored and assisted in a 5–2 victory. He scored twice in the following matchday against Monza on 21 August, netting his first Serie A brace in a 4–0 win. Following these games, Kvaratskhelia topped the Serie A top scorers' list, becoming the first player in Napoli's history to score three goals in the two opening league matches. Furthermore, he was named Serie A Player of the Month in August 2022. On 4 October, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 6–1 away win over Ajax. With another goal and an assist in the return leg a week later, Kvaratskhelia was named Man of the Match, and included in the competition team of the week. With three goals and an assist during the month of February 2023, Kvaratskhelia was named Serie A Player of the Month for a second time, becoming the first player to win the award multiple times in the same season. The next month brought him more recognition when he received another Serie A Player of the Month award, a similar trophy from Italian Footballers' Association and the Serie A Goal of the Month and Serie A Goal of the Season awards for a stunner scored in a 2–0 win against Atalanta on 11 March.

On 4 May, following a 1–1 draw with Udinese, Napoli were confirmed as Serie A champions for the first time in 33 years. He finished the season as top assist provider with 10, and scored 12 goals, being awarded the Serie A MVP award at the end of the season, and the Champions League young player of the season.

On 27 September, Kvaratskhelia got on the scoresheet in Napoli's 4–1 win over Udinese, ending his six-month goal drought. During this season he netted ten more times, including against Fiorentina on 17 May that was recognized by fans as Serie A Goal of the Month.

Youth level
Kvaratskhelia first represented Georgia at under-17 level, making his debut against Bulgaria in a 1–0 loss on 28 September 2016. In May 2017, Kvaratskhelia was part of the Georgian under-17 team that won the UEFA Development Tournament, scoring against Latvia in the final game.

On 8 November 2017, at the age of 16, Kvaratskhelia made his debut for Georgia's under-19's, coming on as a late substitute against Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification. Ten months later, on 5 September 2018, Kvaratskhelia scored his first goal for the under-19's, against the same opposition, in the first game of a double header against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Lučani, Serbia.

Due to his performances for Georgia's under-17 team, Kvaratskhelia became the first winner of the newly introduced Aleksandre Chivadze golden medal in 2017, awarded annually by Georgian Football Federation to talented young players. The following year he received a silver medal for his displays for Georgia's under-19's.

On 29 May 2018, Kvaratskhelia represented a Georgian under-18 team, scoring Georgia's third goal in a 4–1 win away to Turkey.

Prior to his senior call up, Kvaratskhelia represented Georgia's under-21's twice, scoring Georgia's equaliser in an eventual 3–2 loss against France on his debut during qualification for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship on 15 November 2019.

Early senior career
Kvaratskhelia made his debut for the Georgia national team on 7 June 2019, as a starter in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Gibraltar. On 14 October 2020, he scored his first senior international goal in a 1–1 UEFA Nations League draw with North Macedonia.

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification on 28 March 2021, Kvaratskhelia scored against Spain, followed by another goal three days later against Greece.

Kvaratskhelia scored three times in four games of the first phase of the 2022–23 Nations League, and topped the list of players in two nominations, including in the overall ranking. In the remaining two autumn games, he added two more goals, which made him the most prolific Georgian player during this tournament. Whoscored.com named him in the Best XI both in June and September and awarded him the highest seasonal rating point (8.2) among Group C team players.

In autumn 2023, Kvaratskhelia added five more goals to his tally and became the first player among the Crusaders to score in four successive matches.

UEFA Euro 2024
In March 2024, the national team successfully concluded their qualifying campaign for European championship with Kvaratskhelia widely recognized as a vital contributor to this achievement.

On 22 May 2024, Kvaratskhelia was named in the 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2024. On 26 June, he was awarded player of the match, scoring his first goal in the tournament in the second minute of a 2–0 victory over Portugal in the last group stage match, contributing to his nation's qualification to the knockout phase as one of the best third-placed teams. Georgia were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 following a 4–1 defeat to Spain.

Style of play
A physically powerful and technically gifted player, Kvaratskhelia is a tall inverted left winger with a slender build, who is capable of playing anywhere across the front line. While being adept with either foot, he favours cutting inside from the left flank to strike on goal with his stronger right foot. He is also capable of playing as a second striker. He is known for his elegance, acceleration, and pace on the ball, as well as his dribbling skills and use of feints, which allow him to exploit spaces with his runs on the counter-attack. Due to his vision, finishing, crossing, and accuracy from set-pieces, his is capable of scoring goals himself or creating chances for his teammates. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Georgian players of all time, Kvaratskhelia established himself for Georgia in all national youth teams, becoming a key player under different managers. He then became an integral part of the senior team after making his debut in 2019, and helped Georgia qualify for UEFA Euro 2024, the country's first ever major international tournament.

Considered to be a highly promising young player in the media, in 2018 Kvaratskhelia was included in The Guardian's "Next Generation 2018: 60 of the best young talents in world football," while in 2019, he was included in UEFA's "50 for the future" for the 2019–20 season. In 2021, L'Équipe included Kvaratskhelia in their list of 50 best players born after 2001. Following his breakthrough 2022–23 league title-winning season with Napoli, he established himself as one of the best players in the world. In 2022, FourFourTwo included him in their list of "The 100 best players in the world." Kvaratskhelia is also considered to be one of the most talented Georgian players of all time by several pundits.

Kvaratskhelia has been nicknamed "Kvaradona," after the Napoli legend Diego Maradona, as well as the "Georgian Messi," due to their similar playing styles and penchant for dribbling. Fellow former Napoli forward Gianfranco Zola also likened Kvaratskhelia's playing style to that of George Best in 2023. He named Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo as his childhood idol.

Personal life
Khvicha is the son of Badri Kvaratskhelia, a Georgian football player who formerly played for Dinamo Tbilisi and the Azerbaijan national team. He has two brothers, including younger brother Tornike (b. 2010) who also plays football.

In August 2022, Kvaratskhelia revealed in an interview that he had been dating Nitsa Tavadze, a Georgian medical university student, for one year. Their marriage ceremony was held at Mtskheta's Samtavro monastery in October 2023.

International

 * Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kvaratskhelia goal.

Honours
Lokomotiv Moscow
 * Russian Cup: 2018–19

Napoli Individual
 * Serie A: 2022–23
 * Russian Premier League Young Player of the Season: 2019–20, 2020–21
 * Russian Premier League Left Winger of the Season: 2020–21
 * Georgian Footballer of the Year: 2020, 2021, 2022 2023
 * UEFA Champions League Young Player of the Season: 2022–23
 * Serie A Player of the Month: August 2022, February 2023, March 2023
 * Serie A Goal of the Month: March 2023, May 2024
 * Serie A Most Valuable Player: 2022–23
 * Serie A Team of the Season: 2022–23
 * Serie A top assist provider: 2022–23
 * Serie A Goal of the Season: 2022–23
 * Italian Footballers' Association Goal of the Season: 2023
 * Serie A Team of the Year: 2022–23
 * Georgian Order of Honour: 2024