Toni Kroos has thrown his considerable weight behind an unexpected candidate for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, naming Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as his player of the year ahead of the field's usual heavyweights.
Writing on Instagram, the retired Real Madrid and Germany midfielder said the Georgian was 'the number one for me', rating him above Manchester City's Rodri, Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe in his personal ranking.
Kroos called Kvaratskhelia 'the best player of last season' and 'the best player currently at the best football club in the world', pointing to PSG's status as European champions.
According to ONE, Kroos argued that none of the more fancied names produced club campaigns consistent enough to match the Georgian's, suggesting Rodri, Bellingham and Mbappe in particular lacked the sustained club-level stability needed to outweigh his case.
Kvaratskhelia finished the season with 19 goals and 11 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions for PSG, including 10 goals and seven assists in 16 Champions League matches as the French club won back-to-back European titles.
The Ballon d'Or is due to be handed out on October 26 in London, with the field of contenders still expected to be dominated by Champions League winners and World Cup performers once nominations are finalised.
Kroos, who retired from both Real Madrid and the German national team after Euro 2024, has become an increasingly outspoken pundit since hanging up his boots, and his intervention adds an unusual voice to a Ballon d'Or debate that has so far centred on the same handful of established superstars.
