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Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has revealed that his childhood idol was Real Madrid legend Guti amid rumors linking him to the Spanish giants.
The Georgia international, who joined Partenopei last summer from local side Dinamo Batumi, was recently asked which player made him love football.
Kvaratskhelia then revealed it was Guti, a former Galactico who made over 500 appearances for the club in 15 years. He said (via Fabrizio Romano):
"I love football because of Guti, who played in Real Madrid. By the way, when I was a child, Guti's T-shirts were not sold in Georgia. I bought a white jersey and wrote the number 14 on the back with a pen. I always wore this jersey when I played football."
Interestingly, the winger's remarks come at a time when he's been rumored to be on Real Madrid's radar. Spanish news outlet Fichajes reported that the European champions are keeping tabs on Kvaratskhelia's development at Napoli.
Real Madrid want to pair him up with Karim Benzema. However, the Partenopei are expected to demand a staggering fee of over €100 million for the Georgian ace's signature.
Kvaratskhelia came through the ranks at Dinamo Tbilisi before breaking into their senior team in 2017. A lack of opportunities saw him move to rival side Rustavi just a year later. He then really got the first big move of his career with Russian side Rubin Kazan.
After three years, he returned to Georgia in 2022 to continue his club career owing to the political situation in Russia. He played a starring role with Batumi, scoring eight goals from 11 appearances.
Napoli soon came calling for his services and the winger continued in the same vein. He has scored 10 goals and made 11 assists from 20 league appearances to play a key role in their push for the Serie A title.
Real Madrid target Kvaratskhelia helps Napoli storm towards Scudetto
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia-led Napoli are comfortably racing to their first Serie A title, sitting 18 points clear of Inter Milan at the top of the table.
With 21 wins from 24 games and just one defeat so far, the Partenopei have been in absolutely incredible form this season. The fall of the Milan teams, coupled with Juventus' 15-point deduction, has made their job easier too.
Kvaratskhelia has been in prolific form and has built up a lethal partnership with striker Victor Osimhen.
It's now a matter of when, and not if, Luciano Spaletti's team are crowned the champions of Italy. It would mark only their third success in the competition and their first since the 1989-90 season.
