Kvaratskhelia named best Champions League player after a season in which he led PSG’s European rise
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Paris Saint-Germain winger and Georgian international, has been named the best player of the UEFA Champions League for the 2025/26 season. The decision was announced by UEFA on Sunday, May 31, 2026, stating that the award had been presented by its Technical Observer Group. The recognition comes after a season in which Kvaratskhelia was one of the key players in the Parisian side, while PSG defended the European champion title by defeating Arsenal after a penalty shoot-out in the final in Budapest. According to UEFA’s data, the Georgian finished the competition with 10 goals and 6 assists, placing him among the most effective attacking players of the entire European season. In doing so, he further cemented his status as one of the most important players in Luis Enrique’s team and one of the most influential footballers in the current edition of the Champions League.
In its explanation, UEFA emphasized that Kvaratskhelia played a decisive role in PSG’s path toward a new title. The official statistical data of the competition show that he appeared 16 times and spent 1,141 minutes on the pitch, with 50 shots at goal, 88.38 percent passing accuracy, 124.17 kilometres covered and a highest recorded speed of 33.7 kilometres per hour. Such an output explains why the award went to a player who was important not only as a scorer and assist provider, but also as a constant source of pressure on opposing defences. Kvaratskhelia most often operated from the left side of the attack, where he combined runs, movements inside and the creation of overloads in the final third of the pitch. In a team that repeatedly showed pronounced attacking width during the knockout phase, his ability to change the rhythm of an attack on his own was one of the recognizable elements of PSG’s play.
An award from an expert panel, not just a statistical recognition
The recognition for the best player of the season is not awarded exclusively on the basis of goals and assists. UEFA’s Technical Observer Group analyses matches throughout the season from an expert and coaching perspective, and according to UEFA’s description of their work, the observers use data, video footage from multiple angles and tactical analysis. The same panel participates in the selection of players of the match, the team of the season, the best player, the best young player and the best goals of the season. In the criteria for individual awards, UEFA cites contribution to decisive actions, technical quality, tactical maturity, efficiency and behaviour on the pitch. For that reason, Kvaratskhelia’s recognition carries additional weight: it is an assessment of his overall influence on the game, and not merely a confirmation of the numbers he accumulated throughout the competition.
In that context, it is especially important that the Georgian winger maintained continuity in the most demanding part of the season. In the Champions League, matches are often decided in short periods, in situations in which teams need an individual capable of winning a foul, creating an overload or finishing an attack under pressure. Kvaratskhelia had precisely such a role in PSG’s system. His attacking aggression opened space for his teammates, and his cooperation with midfielders and forwards allowed the Parisian team to attack opponents in several ways during the knockout phase. When UEFA announced the winner, the emphasis was placed on his importance to PSG’s route to the trophy, including the closing stage of the competition.
The final in Budapest confirmed PSG’s resilience
PSG concluded the season by defending the European title in the final against Arsenal, played on May 30, 2026, at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest. According to UEFA’s report on the Parisian route to the title, the match ended 1:1, and PSG won 4:3 after penalties. Arsenal took an early lead in the match, but the Parisian team came back in the second half through a penalty converted by Ousmane Dembélé. In the announcement about Kvaratskhelia’s award, UEFA stated that it was he who won the penalty in the final after a foul by Cristhian Mosquera, thereby directly taking part in the move that brought PSG back into the match. Although he was not the only player to leave a mark on the final itself, his contribution once again came at a moment when the team needed a concrete impact.
Such a detail describes well the way Kvaratskhelia influenced PSG’s season. His value was not only in the final shot, but also in situations in which he forced the opponent into risk. Wingers of his profile are often measured by the number of successful dribbles or direct goals, but in the final the decisive factor was the ability to enter the penalty area and force the defence into a reaction. PSG then survived the pressure of the closing stages and extra time, and in the shoot-out reached a second consecutive European title. UEFA also emphasized that the Parisian club became only the second team in the Champions League era to successfully defend the title, after Real Madrid, who dominated the competition between 2016 and 2018.
From a variable league phase to a powerful knockout run
PSG’s path to the trophy was not completely linear, which makes Kvaratskhelia’s season even more significant. According to UEFA’s review of the winning campaign, the Parisian team finished the league phase with four wins, two draws and two defeats, with 21 goals scored and 11 conceded, which brought them 11th place. Such a position meant that the defending champion had to play an additional knockout round, in which they progressed against Monaco with a 5:4 aggregate score. After that, PSG eliminated Chelsea 8:2 on aggregate in the round of 16, Liverpool 4:0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, and Bayern München 6:5 on aggregate in the semi-finals. The final victory against Arsenal rounded off a path that grew from initial fluctuations into one of the most impressive closing stretches of the season.
In that phase, Kvaratskhelia established himself as a player who could respond to different tactical demands. Against opponents who defended deep, he brought penetration and one-on-one play, while in more open matches he was dangerous in transition and in attacks into the space behind the defence. UEFA singled out the first semi-final match against Bayern as one of his best performances, a match in which PSG won 5:4 and Kvaratskhelia scored twice. He scored the first goal with a shot that brought PSG level at 1:1, and the second with a powerful finish later in the match. In the two-legged tie with Bayern, which UEFA described as one of the great semi-final series in the history of the competition, his efficiency was crucial for the passage toward Budapest.
The numbers that explain the season
Kvaratskhelia’s output of 10 goals and 6 assists in the Champions League shows a rare combination of finishing and creation. According to UEFA’s statistical data, he averaged 0.63 goals per appearance, while also recording an average of 0.38 assists. Such numbers are especially important because they were achieved in a competition in which every mistake is punished, and opponents in the later rounds usually have enough time and material for detailed preparation. Even in those conditions, Kvaratskhelia maintained a high level of direct impact, which is one of the reasons why he stood out in competition with players from several European giants. His statistics point not only to individual form, but also to the fact that PSG’s attack built a large part of its danger through his left side.
It is also important that his game was not one-dimensional. With 50 attempts at goal, he was a constant threat, but 6 assists show that he did not force the finish when passing was the better solution. A passing accuracy of 88.38 percent for an attacking player, according to UEFA’s data, points to a high level of rationality in possession. The covered distance of 124.17 kilometres further shows his involvement in the team’s intensity, which is extremely important for a winger in a high-pressing system. During PSG’s European campaign, Luis Enrique used a dynamic attacking structure, and Kvaratskhelia had enough freedom within it to attack space, but also enough tactical responsibility to take part in the collective structure.
A rise that began before Paris
Kvaratskhelia’s affirmation at PSG is a continuation of a career that had already made a strong European impact before his arrival in France. According to Paris Saint-Germain’s official profile, he was born on February 12, 2001, in Tbilisi, and began his football development at Dinamo Tbilisi. After spells at Rustavi, Lokomotiv Moscow, Rubin Kazan and Dinamo Batumi, he made a major step forward by moving to Napoli in 2022. PSG states in its profile that at Napoli he became Serie A champion in a season in which the club won its first Italian championship title after 33 years, and he was also named the best player of Serie A and the best young player of the Champions League. At Napoli, according to the same club source, he played 107 matches, scored 30 goals and recorded 29 assists in all competitions.
His arrival at PSG also marked a symbolic moment for the club. Paris Saint-Germain states that Kvaratskhelia became the first Georgian player in the club’s history, and in Paris he took the number 7 shirt. Such a transfer carried great expectations because, after changes in the attacking hierarchy, PSG were looking for a player who could bring width, creativity and individual quality. In the 2025/26 European season, Kvaratskhelia showed that he could be more than an attractive dribbler: he became one of the leaders of play in a team that won Europe’s most important club competition for the second consecutive time. For Georgian football, his recognition carries additional weight because it confirms the presence of a player from that country at the very top of the European scene.
What the award means for PSG and Kvaratskhelia
For PSG, this award is another confirmation of the team’s change of identity after a period in which the club was often viewed through the prism of major individual names. UEFA’s review of the winning season stresses that, after winning the first title the previous year, the Parisian team gained confidence that carried it toward a new triumph. Defending the title in the Champions League is extremely rare, and the fact that PSG achieved it after an uneven league phase further underlines the quality of the closing part of the campaign. Kvaratskhelia was one of the symbols of the attacking transformation in that process: a player who can play wide, finish attacks, create chances and take responsibility in matches of the greatest pressure. His recognition therefore speaks not only of individual excellence, but also of the way PSG built a more functional and more balanced European side.
For the player himself, the award represents a new career peak. After previously being recognized as one of the greatest talents of Serie A and the Champions League, he has now been confirmed as the best player of the entire season in the most prestigious European club competition. UEFA’s list of previous winners further shows the weight of the recognition: before him, the award was won by Ousmane Dembélé, Vinícius Júnior, Rodri and Karim Benzema. Entering such company places Kvaratskhelia among footballers whose impact is measured not only through club success, but also through the ability to define an entire European season. PSG won the title collectively, but UEFA’s choice clearly shows that Kvaratskhelia was the face of that campaign.
The most important facts about Kvaratskhelia’s season
- UEFA’s Technical Observer Group named Khvicha Kvaratskhelia the best player of the Champions League for the 2025/26 season.
- According to UEFA’s data, he played 16 matches in the competition, scored 10 goals and recorded 6 assists.
- PSG defended the European champion title by defeating Arsenal after penalties, following a 1:1 draw in the final in Budapest.
- Kvaratskhelia won the penalty in the final that Ousmane Dembélé converted into the equalizer.
- In the semi-final tie against Bayern, UEFA particularly highlighted his performance in the first match, in which he scored twice in PSG’s 5:4 win.
- In the knockout phase, PSG eliminated Monaco, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern, and finished the season as only the second team in the Champions League era to defend the title.
Kvaratskhelia’s award comes at a moment when PSG is consolidating its position as one of Europe’s leading teams. In a season in which the club defended the title, and the attacking line was often decisive in the toughest matches, the Georgian winger combined individual quality with concrete efficiency. UEFA’s choice is therefore confirmation that his season cannot be viewed only through final statistics, but through the constant influence on the way PSG gained advantages, came back from deficits and controlled key moments. After 10 goals, 6 assists and a direct role in the final, Kvaratskhelia ended the European season as the player whose contribution received the highest official recognition from UEFA’s experts.
Sources:
- UEFA – announcement on the selection of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as the best Champions League player of 2025/26 and explanation of the award (link)
- UEFA – official statistics of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the 2025/26 Champions League (link)
- UEFA – overview of PSG’s route to the 2025/26 Champions League title and knockout-phase results (link)
- UEFA – explanation of the role of the Technical Observer Group and criteria for individual awards (link)
- Paris Saint-Germain – official profile of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, biographical data and career information before joining PSG (link)
- ESPN – result of the PSG and Arsenal final, confirmation of the 1:1 score and PSG’s 4:3 win after penalties (link)