A former Manchester City scorer in power in Georgia, in a very tense political context. Mikheïl Kavelashvili, known for his ultraconservative and anti-Western positions, particularly on the question of minority rights, and considered an ally of Putin's Russia, was sworn in in Parliament to succeed Salomé Zourabichvili, a few weeks after the legislative elections denounced as rigged by the pro-Western opposition.
“He had a great open mind”
“Our history clearly shows that after countless struggles to defend our homeland and traditions, peace has always been one of the main goals and values of the Georgian people,” Kavelashvili said in his speech, while his camp presents itself as a bulwark against the West which would like to drag Tbilisi into the war between Russia and Ukraine. He also called for respect for “our traditions, our values, our national identity, the sanctity of the family and the faith”.
He is the second player from Manchester City to become president of his country after Georges Weah. Kavelashvili was ahead of him by a few years, at the time when the Citizens were struggling not to go down each season. A failed bet that year (1996), despite a goal from the Georgian international (9 goals in 46 caps) in the Mancunian derby. 28 matches was insufficient at the time to extend his work permit. Kavelashvili then chose Switzerland, where he spent most of his career and won a few additional titles, having already been Georgian champion three times in the early 1990s.
By clicking on“I accept”you accept the deposit of cookies by external services and will thus have access to the content of our partners.
More information on the Cookie management policy page
I accept
“In the locker room, he was appreciated by everyone, calm, smiling and close to people,” Frédéric Chassot, one of his former teammates at FC Zurich (1999-2002) and FC Sion (2003- 2004). He often spoke to me about the pro-Soviet regime in his country and was reassured to be in Switzerland with his family. I only learned of his involvement in politics this summer. We are still in contact, but he never spoke to me about it. When I saw, moreover, that it was under the label of the Georgian Dream, I can't hide the fact that I was very surprised. It doesn't suit the boy. He had a great open mind. »
Kavelashvili's positioning is indeed very different today: considered a puppet of the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvli, sanctioned on Friday by the United States, he was nevertheless unable to run at the head of the Georgian football federation because of a lack of higher education diploma, in 1995. This was clearly not valid for occupying the highest office in the country.
