Georges Mikautadze

Georges Mikautadze (Georgian: ჟორჟ მიქაუტაძე Zhorzh Mikautadze; born 31 October 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club Ajax. Born in France, he plays for the Georgia national team.

Georges Mikautadze
Mikautadze with Metz in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-10-31) 31 October 2000
Place of birth Lyon, France
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Ajax
Number 19
Youth career
2007–2008 FC Gerland
2008–2015 Lyon
2015–2016 Saint-Priest
2016–2018 Metz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2020 Metz B 24 (9)
2019–2023 Metz 42 (25)
2020–2022 → Seraing (loan) 49 (28)
2023– Ajax 4 (0)
International career‡
2021– Georgia 20 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2023

Club career

Early career

Mikautadze started taking first steps in football at Gerland before he joined the academy of Olympique Lyonnais. In 2016, he moved to FC Metz's football academy.[1]

Mikautadze made his professional debut with Metz in a 4–1 Ligue 1 loss to Nice on 7 December 2019.[2] On 10 December 2019, he signed his first professional contract with Metz which was a four year deal.[3] He struggled to make an impact in his first season in France, playing mostly for the reserve team.[4]

Seraing

In June 2020, Mikautadze was one of six Metz players to join Belgian First Division B side Seraing on loan.[5] After his first nine matches with Seraing, he had scored 15 times, including four on his debut against Lommel.[6] Overall, with 19 goals he became a joint topscorer of the season. He netted three goals in an aggregate 6–3 play-off victory over Waasland-Beveren. For his contribution to Seraing's successful league campaign, Mikautadze was named in Team of the Season[7] and was awarded the Métallo d'Or, the title annually given to the best Seraing player, after the fans had voted for him.[8]

On 30 August 2021, he returned to Seraing on another loan, with the club now promoted to the Belgian top tier.[9] The team ended up in the relegation zone, although it remained in the league due to the only goal scored by Mikautadze in the play-offs against Molenbeek.[10]

Metz

In the summer of 2022, Mikautadze returned to Metz. From a very early stage of the team's 2022-23 league campaign, he emerged as a vital contributor to its promotion battle. By March 2023 Mikautadze was the leading goalscorer of the league. Taking into account his overall performance, the National Union of Professional Players (UNPF) named him Player of the Month.[11] Having added nine more goals in April and May, he was selected in Team of the Week six times in a row during this period.[12] By the end of the season he was the top goalscorer and best player of the league.[13]

With Metz promoted to Ligue 1 in 2023-24, Mikautadze had an impressive start to the new season, scoring twice and providing an assist in three matches.

Ajax

On 30 August 2023, Eredivisie club Ajax announced the signing of Mikautadze on a five-year contract for a reported fee of €16 million, potentially rising to €19 million with add-ons.[14][15] He made his debut, starting and playing the full game, in a 0–0 draw away at Fortuna Sittard.[16]

International career

Mikautadze received a first call-up for the Georgia national team from French coach Willy Sagnol in March 2021. He told the press that he had been dreaming about playing for Georgia since his childhood.[17]

Mikautadze made his debut with the Georgia national team in a 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification loss to Sweden on 25 March 2021.[18] In June 2021, he netted his first international goal in a 2–1 away friendly win against Romania.[19]

On 12 October 2023, Mikautadze scored 4 goals, his first international hat-trick and poker, in an 8–0 win against Thailand, the record win of the Georgia national team.

Career statistics

Club
As of matches played on 8 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Metz B 2018–19 Championnat National 3 61——61
2019–20 188——188
Total 249——249
Metz 2019–20 Ligue 1 10——10
2020–21 10——10
2022–23 Ligue 2 37 23 3 1 — 40 24
2023–24 Ligue 1 3 2 0 0 — 3 2
Total 42 25 3 1 0 0 45 26
Seraing
(loan)		 2020–21 Belgian First Division B 211910232422
2021–22 Belgian First Division A 28934213314
Total 492844445736
Ajax 2023–24 Eredivisie 30000030
Career total 11862754412971

International
As of match played 15 October 2023[20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Georgia 2021 7 1
2022 6 1
2023 7 7
Total 20 9

Scores and results list Georgia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mikautadze goal.

List of international goals scored by Georges Mikautadze
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.2 June 2021Ilie Oană Stadium, Ploiești, Romania Romania1–02–1Friendly
2.2 June 2022Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia Gibraltar3–04–02022–23 UEFA Nations League C
3.28 March 2023Batumi Stadium, Batumi, Georgia Norway1–11–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
4.17 June 2023AEK Arena, Larnaca, Cyprus Cyprus1–02–1
5.12 October 2023Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia Thailand3–08–0Friendly
6.4–0
7.5–0
8.7–0
9.15 October 2023Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tblisi, Georgia Cyprus4–04–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

Individual

References
  1. "მეცმა" ქართველთან კონტრაქტი გააფორმა - მიქაუტაძე ლოთარინგიაში სამი წელი ითამაშებს". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 11 Dec 2019.
  2. "Nice vs. Metz - 7 December 2019 - Soccerway". Soccerway.
  3. "Metz : Georges Mikautadze passe professionnel - Foot - L1 - Metz". L'Équipe.
  4. "FC Metz Amid interest from the Premier League, set a price tag". FootballExpress.in. 13 May 2023.
  5. "Metz send 6 players on loan to Belgian 2nd division side & satellite club Seraing". getfootballnewsfrance.com. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  6. "Maak kennis met Georges Mikautadze: het doelpuntenfenomeen in 1B". sporza.be (in Dutch). 13 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  7. "D1B Pro League 'XI van het seizoen' // SPITS (2) // Georges Mikautadze (Seraing)" [D1B Pro League 'XI of the season' // STRIKER (2) // Georges Mikautadze (Seraing)]. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  8. "Georges Mikautadze reçoit le titre de Métallo d'Or" (in French). 17 April 2021.
  9. "MERCATO : GEORGES IS BACK" (in French). Seraing. 30 August 2021.
  10. "Molenbeek vs Seraing". fotmob.com. 23 April 2022.
  11. "GEORGES MIKAUTADZE SACRÉ EN LIGUE 2 BKT" (in French). UNPF. 18 April 2023.
  12. "მიქაუტაძე და დავითაშვილი ლიგა 2-ის ტურის სიმბოლურში ისევ ერთად მოხვდნენ". europop.ge (in Georgian). 24 May 2023.
  13. "Trophées UNFP: Palmarès des meilleurs joueurs" (in French). ligue2.fr. 28 May 2023.
  14. "Ajax signs Mikautadze". ajax.nl. 30 August 2023.
  15. Pietrzela, Andrea (30 August 2023). "Mikautadze all'Ajax, è ufficiale: contratto fino al 2028". Goal.com (in Italian). Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  16. "Fortuna Sittard 0-0 Ajax - Eredivisie 2023/2024 Live".
  17. "მიქაუტაძე: ჩემი ქვეყნის ნაკრების ღირსების დაცვაზე ბავშვობიდან ვოცნებობდი". sportall.ge (in Georgian). 22 March 2021.
  18. "Match Report of Sweden vs Georgia - 2021-03-25 - WC Qualification". Global Sports Archive. 25 Mar 2021. Retrieved 26 Mar 2021.
  19. "Romania vs Georgia". EUROSPORT. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  20. "Mikautadze, Georges". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  21. "Trophées UNFP. Le Messin Georges Mikautadze élu meilleur joueur de Ligue 2". ouest-france.fr (in French). 28 May 2023.
  22. "Ligue 2 : Arouna Sangante dans l'équipe type de la saison". Wiwsport.com (in French). 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
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