Dembele and Kvaratskhelia propose sharing 2026 Ballon d'Or as PSG lead shortlist
Paris St-Germain team-mates Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia have publicly backed one another in the race for the 2026 Ballon d'Or and even suggested dividing the prize, with the winner to be announced at a ceremony in London on 26 October. The comments were made exclusively to BBC Sport during a period when PSG supply 10 players to the Ballon d'Or shortlist.
The Ballon d'Or is marking its 70th anniversary this year and the choice of London as venue is presented as a tribute to the competition’s first winner, Sir Stanley Matthews. While there can only be one recipient on 26 October, Paris St-Germain's status as French and European champions last season has left the club heavily represented among the nominees, with 10 players shortlisted for the award.
Their mutual support has been emphatic in interview and on the pitch: Dembele joked, "We can cut it in two," before adding, "honestly, he [Kvaratskhelia] deserves it, the season he had was exceptional" when discussing the Ballon d'Or with BBC Sport. Kvaratskhelia returned the compliment to BBC Sport journalist Julien Laurens, saying: "Of course it's him [Dembele], the season he had last year, he deserves it." PSG supporters saw the pair combine frequently during the club’s Champions League title defence last season.
PSG signed Kvaratskhelia in January 2025 from Napoli for £59m, bringing in the then 23-year-old who had been nicknamed 'Kvaradona' by Napoli fans during their 2022-23 title-winning campaign. Kvaratskhelia has been compared to George Best by Gianfranco Zola and cites Cristiano Ronaldo as his biggest inspiration. Team-mate Dembele described him as "[He's] electric," adding: "Every time he has the ball something can happen. Every time he goes one v one, he provokes the opponent. He has shown all his quality. Especially last season where he had a really, really good season. Thankfully we didn't let him go to the Premier League."
Individually in Europe last season, Kvaratskhelia was named the Champions League's best player after scoring 10 goals and providing six assists, averaging a goal contribution in the competition every 72 minutes. He also became the first player to score or assist in seven consecutive knockout appearances in a single Champions League campaign. Kvaratskhelia cited family motivation, noting his father played for Dinamo Tbilisi and the Azerbaijani national team, and outlining his own career path from Tbilisi to Lokomotiv Moscow and Rubin Kazan before returning to Dinamo Batumi and then moving to Napoli. On what a Ballon d'Or would mean, he told BBC Sport: "I think for the big nations it's really difficult to understand what [winning a Ballon d'Or] would mean for the small country [like Georgia]. It's something that is very far, it's like impossible, of course I will be the happiest guy because I want to make my family and country proud."
Dembele, now 29, combined blistering pace with finishing to record a combined 31 goals and assists last season and produced 1.27 goal contributions per 90 minutes; only Harry Kane posted a better rate among players in Europe's top five leagues last term. Dembele is the current Ballon d'Or holder and scored six goals in 10 appearances for France in 2026 as his side reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. Kvaratskhelia praised him to BBC Sport: "He's an amazing player. The way he leads the team is important, the way his personality and what he gives the team on the pitch is really incredible, and the season he had last year, it was amazing. I think we understand each other very, very much. It's easy to understand what he will make and you just have to make some move and he will give you a ball wherever he wants and wherever you are waiting."
Dembele's transfer history was outlined in the same coverage: Barcelona paid £135.5m to sign him from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, and PSG secured him for £43.5m in 2023; the club have since made him their main star. On maintaining form he said: "I didn't change," Dembele added. "I played my game, last season and the one before when I won the Ballon d'Or, I stayed the same person. When you win it for the first time, you don't want people to say that you were lucky. So you want to continue to be at the top."
Other leading contenders named in the coverage include England captain Harry Kane, described as odds-on after a club record 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern Munich last season and six World Cup goals; Lamine Yamal, who won La Liga with Barcelona and the World Cup with Spain and is listed as second favourite followed by team-mate Rodri; Real Madrid forward Mbappe, who scored 42 goals in 44 club games last season and won the World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals while becoming the World Cup's all-time record goalscorer; Lionel Messi, nominated and seeking a ninth Ballon d'Or; and PSG team-mate Ferran Torres, who scored Spain's winner in the World Cup final.
The Ballon d'Or winner will be revealed at the London ceremony on 26 October, when only one of the shortlisted players — including the strongly represented PSG contingent — will receive the award.
