PSG duo Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia make their Ballon d’Or picks

PSG duo Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia make their Ballon d’Or picks The race for the Ballon d’Or is hotting up, with the ceremony set to take place in London on 26th October. Ousmane Dembélé is the current holder of the prestigious individual prize, and the Frenchman, in an interview alongside Khvicha Kvaratskhelia with Ligue 1 Plus, evoked this year’s race. Paris Saint-Germain have a record nine nominees for this year’s prize. Dembélé, who won it last year, is one of the favourites as he looks to retain the Ballon d’Or. However, his vote is going to a teammate. “I hope that a Parisien will win the Ballon d’Or and especially Kvara, who had an incredible season with PSG. He made a difference in all of the big matches. He had a great season. We hope that it will be either me or him,” said the France international. “I think that, if I could vote, I would vote for Ousmane. He was there to support us and help the team,” Kvaratskhelia told Ligue 1 Plus. The Georgia international added, “We understand each other very well, even off the pitch. It is very easy to understand how he plays football.” On his relationship with Kvaratskhelia, Dembélé added, “Off the pitch, we get on really well and on it, it is easy with a player of this quality. I already knew him before Napoli because I played Football Manager, so I knew him when he was at Rubin Kazan. He is an incredible player. We saw him at Napoli and now here at PSG. He has been with us for a year-and-a-half doing incredible things. Our complicity is natural.” Kylian Mbappé, Fabián Ruiz, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, and Michael Olise are also among the favourites to win this year’s prize. GFFN | Luke Entwistle