Ballon d’Or 2026: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s ambitions to win football's top prize dissected - 'If he was Brazilian or Spanish, he would win’

Kvaratskhelia has enjoyed a remarkable season for PSG, guiding them to the French league title and their second UEFA Champions League final in two seasons.

The Georgian has been PSG's biggest threat during the knockout stages of the Champions League, scoring three times against Chelsea, bagging a goal and an assist against Liverpool, and adding two further goals plus an additional assist in the semi-final against Bayern Munich.

For many, Kvaratskhelia is the front-runner for this year's Ballon d'Or award - which will be given out in London for the first time ever - with one game to go in the club season, as PSG take on Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

But Laurens believes others will surpass Kvaratskhelia, thanks to this summer's 2026 FIFA World Cup.

"Right now, he would be my Ballon d'Or. The problem is that there's a World Cup that he's not going to be part of and that will change everything," Laurens explained.

"If Georgia were in the World Cup, and he had a good tournament, and he'd taken them to the last 16, for example, I think he'd have a massive chance.

"So I don't think it'll be him. I think whoever wins on Saturday and then goes to the World Cup, whether it's [Bukayo] Saka, [Declan] Rice, [William] Saliba, [Ousmane] Dembele, even [Desire] Doue, I think will be in the conversation with Lamine [Yamal], with Harry Kane.

"But it's a bit of a shame for Kvaratskhelia because if the season stopped after the Champions League final, he would be the Ballon d'Or winner."

Laurens added that if Kvaratskhelia was "Brazilian or Spanish or even French, he would be [given recognition as] world class from everybody worldwide and would win the Ballon d'Or.

"I think the fact he's Georgian, there are still people not really knowing who he is and what he does," he said.

Kvaratskhelia joined PSG from Napoli midway through last season, providing key attacking thrust from the left-hand side to help PSG to their first ever Champions League title.

And the 25-year-old appears to have gone up another level in his first full season in the French capital.

So far, he's scored 19 goals - 10 of which have come in the Champions League - and provided 10 assists in 47 games across all competitions, the most productive season of his career.

On Saturday, Kvaratskhelia will likely come up against Cristhian Mosquera as a makeshift right-back, with Ben White and Jurrien Timber out through injury.

And Laurens highlights Kvaratskhelia's unique two-footed dribbling ability as a key danger for Mosquera.

"I think the dribbling is really fascinating because, for a right-footed left-winger, usually you come inside on to your stronger foot, which is his right foot," he said. "But with him, he's just as comfortable going on the outside, onto his left foot, then coming inside onto his right foot.

"And for a defender, if you want to show him on to his weaker foot, you can't because he'll happily take you on that side and put a cross in like we saw against Bayern, for example, in the first goal that PSG scored. And I think that's very difficult to defend against. For Kvaratskhelia, it's just his unpredictability that is his main strength."

Kvaratskhelia will complete a formidable front three alongside Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue, all capable of producing a moment of magic from nothing.

But PSG manager Luis Enrique stressed the importance of playing as teams, not as individuals.

"I think that's the ideal for any manager in the world because you try to have all the time the best players, best quality players, but playing for the team, really playing for the team," Enrique told TNT Sports.

"And when you look at us, and you watch us playing football, we can appreciate that mentality from the first striker until the last defender."

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