Kvaradona delivers crushing blow to Arsenal and Chelsea

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 3 Mar 2024 16:31 GMT
• 3 min read

The father of Napoli superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has delivered a crushing blow to Arsenal and Chelsea’s hopes of signing his son this summer.

Badri Kvaratskhelia has revealed that the Napoli attacker is likely to stay at the club next season.

This will come as a blow to Chelsea, Arsenal, PSG and Barcelona, all of whom are reported to be very interested in signing the Georgian nicknamed 'Kvaradona' this summer.

What did Kvaratskhelia father say?

“I am so happy with Napoli’s title and that my son Khvicha contributed to winning it. I am grateful to Italy and Naples for having welcomed and appreciated him as a person and as a footballer,” Badri told Radio Serie A.

“He’s the only one who can choose whether to stay at Napoli, but I think he will continue wearing the Napoli shirt. In any case, I will respect his decision.”

Kvaratskhelia’s future has been in question for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the winger is still one of the lowest-paid players of the Napoli squad despite proving instrumental in them winning a first Scudetto in 33 years last season.

Secondly, Napoli have endured a disastrous season this term and are almost certain to fail to qualify for the Champions League next year.

However, Badri believes his son will stay, while Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis recently promised to sit down and discuss an improved contract at the end of the season.

Kvaratskhelia at Napoli

Kvaratskhelia was one of the breakout stars of European football last season during a historic campaign for the Partenopei.

He moved to Napoli from Dinamo Batumi last summer for €10 million – and that proved to be the bargain of the season.

He scored 14 goals and assisted 14 in all competitions as Napoli won their first Scudetto in 33 years.

He delivered a string of brilliant performances, including tearing Juventus apart 5-1 in January and Liverpool 4-1 in the Champions League.

This led to many of Europe’s biggest clubs being interested in signing the star in 2024.

This season, Kvara has not been as impressive.

He ended last season badly and that poor form spilled into the current campaign. At one point, he went six months without scoring a goal, also contributing only one assist during this time.

It has been claimed by some that Kvaratskhelia’s contract situation was a cause for his decline in form.

He has eight goals and five assists in 33 games this term for Napoli.