Napoli star Kvicha Kvaratskhelia admits the toughest opponent he has faced is very close to home, while revealing anecdotes about Lionel Messi and Milan rival Rafael Leao.
The Georgia international is currently away playing for his country after scoring two goals against Scotland and preparing to face Spain.
He spoke to local reporters and spilled the beans on some intriguing stories from behind the scenes.
“The toughest opponent I’ve ever faced is Giovanni Di Lorenzo on the training ground. I hope I’ll never have to play against him,” said Kvaratskhelia.
Together they won the first Napoli Scudetto in over 30 years and that allowed the local fans to nickname the forward ‘Kvaradona.’
It proved enough to get him on the Ballon d’Or list of candidates and it was at the ceremony in Paris where he met World Cup winner Messi.
“Messi was sitting to the right of me. During the commercial break, we were warned not to stand up and move around a lot, so I stayed seated.
“Suddenly, he got up and came towards me. I didn’t understand what was happening, but he lifted his arm and shook my hand. I appreciate it so much, he is an amazing person.”
Kvaratskhelia also impressed some of his opponents in Serie A and was grateful for a gesture from Milan star Rafael Leao after the Napoli man finally broke his six-month goal drought.
“It’s tough to find a man like Leao in football. When I hadn’t scored for a long time and then got a goal, he wrote to congratulate me and wished me all the best. He is a super human being.”