If Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was a budding film star, and not a bag-of-tricks winger, it would take five minutes before an agent suggested he changed his name.
After all branding is everything these days, and maybe that’s always been the case. It’s why Issur Danielovitch became Kirk Douglas. It’s why Norma Jeane Baker became Marilyn Monroe.
| Per year | €1,527,721 | £1,300,156 |
| Per month | €127,310 | £108,346 |
| Per week | €29,379 | £25,002 |
| Per day | €4,185 | £3,561 |
| Per hour | €174 | £148 |
| Per minute | €2 | £1 |
And branding too is a huge deal in football, with image rights often a sticking point in contract negotiations. It can be a lucrative detail and the most famous example concerning this is Cristiano Ronaldo trademarking ‘CR7’.
It is to Kvaratskhelia’s enormous credit therefore that he has retained the name of his birth, despite it being difficult to pronounce and harder still to spell.
Not that the Georgian has been overly effected by his decision. On matchdays he dances down the wing for Napoli. Away from football he’s laughing all the way to the bank.
Tbilisi to Naples
Born in Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi, Kvaratskhelia’s pace and trickery was widely noted as a boy, scouts flocking to see him score multiple goals per game for his local side.
The country’s biggest club, Dinamo Tbilisi wasted little time in bringing the young prodigy into their youth system and it quickly became clear that he was destined for the very top.
Aged 16 he won a national merit for promise shown. Aged 17 he made his first-team debut for the Blue and Whites.
Regrettably, a contract dispute soured things early and after just four appearances for his hometown club, the winger moved across the border to Russia to play for Rustavi, then Lokomotiv Moscow on loan.
Around this time, he was included in a Guardian article highlighting the best up-and-coming footballers from around the world.
In 2019, Rubin Kazan swooped, offering the player a five-year deal, and it was at the Ak Bars Arena where Kvaratskhelia really began to make his mark, putting in man of the match performances on a weekly basis.
For one-and-a-half seasons there he was sensational. A class apart.
To Qualify From Group - Georgia
Only then Russia invaded Ukraine and that changed everything, with FIFA announcing that overseas players could suspend their contracts and play elsewhere during the hostilities.
Kvaratskhelia returned home to sign for Dinamo Batumi where he proved an instant success, scoring eight goals in 11 outings.
By now Napoli had seen enough to make a €12m bid that was soon after accepted. Serie A was about to welcome one of the most exciting talents they had hosted for many a year.
The player’s impact in Naples was immediate and substantial, adding individual brilliance to a collective that pressed hard and were committed to playing on the front foot.
Up front the partnership of Victor Osimhen and Hirving Lozano was devastating but it was Kvaratskhelia who grabbed the headlines, so often outstanding for Gli Azzurri and accruing 25 goal involvements.
By May, Napoli had defied the football betting and won their first Scudetto for a generation. ‘Kvara’ had only come to prominence a season before, ripping it up for Kazan. Now he was a ready-made superstar.
How Much Is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Worth?
The 23-year-old has a net worth that easily exceeds £3m, a fortune mainly amassed from his salary at Napoli along with generous bonuses.
In Russia, his annual income struggled to top £100,000 but with Europe’s leading clubs all circling Napoli have had to dig deep, offering their star attraction ten times that.
For Gli Azzurri, Kvara earns £25,224 per week, equating to £1.3m per year.
In February 2024, the player announced via his social media that he had switched from Nike to exclusively wearing Adidas boots. Not only was he paid a hefty sum for this but Adidas also gifted the winger his own customized version of their Predator boot.
There is additionally a collaboration with a Georgian betting company.
Reflecting his wealth, Kvaratskhelia owns property in Georgia and Italy while he is also a fan of sports cars. One of his small collection was stolen in 2022 but was promptly returned when the thieves realised who it belonged to.
Georgia's Greatest Talent?
Very much the underdogs in the Euro betting, Georgia head to Germany this summer tagged as a one-man team.
Already billed as the greatest talent the nation has produced, Kvara typically brings his A-game to the international stage, inspiring an otherwise ordinary side to Nations League success which in turn secured them their first ever major tournament.
The football-obsessed Eastern European country are rightfully excited about the adventure to come, and in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia they boast one of the world’s finest talents to inspire them further.
Hero Status
The level of hero worship afforded to the 23-year-old compares to any great player from any era. In his native Georgia, the winger could run for Prime Minister and win by a landslide.
In Naples, he has been bestowed with the highest possible honour by being given the nickname ‘Kvaradona’, spoken of in the same lofty terms as that region’s ultimate sporting idol Diego Maradona.
One example of the esteem in which he is held lies in how his fellow Georgians are treated in Sicily as whenever they eat out they are treated to free pizza simply for sharing the winger’s nationality.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
