1. Early life and youth career
Giorgi Mamardashvili was born on 29 September 2000 in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia. His formative years in football began at a young age within the country's youth development structures.
1.1. Dinamo Tbilisi youth academy
Mamardashvili joined Dinamo Tbilisi's youth setup in 2012, having previously been part of Gagra. He spent a significant portion of his early football development within the Dinamo Tbilisi academy, a prominent club in Georgian football, where he honed his skills as a goalkeeper.
2. Club career
Mamardashvili's professional club journey began with Dinamo Tbilisi and saw him progress through various loan spells before making a significant move to Spanish football.
2.1. Dinamo Tbilisi and early loan spells
After progressing through the youth ranks, Mamardashvili was promoted to Dinamo Tbilisi's first team, featuring as an unused substitute for most of the 2018 season. Despite being part of the senior squad, he did not make a competitive debut for Dinamo Tbilisi before embarking on loan spells to gain senior experience.
2.1.1. FC Rustavi (loan)
For the 2019 season, Mamardashvili was loaned to FC Rustavi. He made his senior debut on 2 March 2019, starting in a 4-1 away loss against Locomotive Tbilisi. During his time at Rustavi, he contributed with 28 appearances in the league and 2 in the national cup, playing a crucial role in helping his side avoid relegation from the Erovnuli Liga.
2.1.2. FC Locomotive Tbilisi (loan)
Following his spell at Rustavi, Mamardashvili made another loan move to Locomotive Tbilisi for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He gained significant recognition during Locomotive's UEFA Europa League campaign in 2020. His strong performance against Granada particularly drew attention from Spanish scouts, as reported by the newspaper Marca. In late December 2020, he was honored with the Goalkeeper of the Year award by the Georgian Football Federation. His potential was further highlighted in January 2021 when UEFA included him in their list of 50 young talents expected to shine in the future. Across his two loan spells with Locomotive Tbilisi, Mamardashvili made a total of 29 league appearances and 3 appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
2.2. Valencia CF
On 7 June 2021, Mamardashvili joined La Liga club Valencia on a one-year loan deal, which included a buyout clause. He was initially assigned to Valencia's reserve team in Tercera División RFEF. However, he made a strong impression during the pre-season with the main squad, catching the eye of manager José Bordalás. This led to him earning the starting spot in the league opener against Getafe on 13 August 2021. Despite an early red card for a teammate, Mamardashvili helped Los Che secure a 1-0 victory, marking a clean sheet on his La Liga debut.
On 31 December 2021, Valencia confirmed the permanent signing of Mamardashvili on a contract until 2024, with an option for a further year, solidifying his place at the club.
During the 2021-22 season, Mamardashvili participated in 18 league matches, keeping eight clean sheets. He achieved a notable record of 560 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal. His strong performances earned him inclusion in La Liga's symbolic Team of the Week on two occasions (Matchweeks 1 and 35). Additionally, he received the player of the match award three times. In May 2022, Marca recognized his breakthrough season by naming him in La Liga's Discovery of the Season team.
In the subsequent season, Mamardashvili became an integral part of Valencia's squad, taking part in all 38 league games without being substituted. He was once again selected in La Liga's Team of the Week three times throughout the season. Based on fan votes, Mamardashvili was named Valencia's best player in 2023, having finished second only to Gonçalo Guedes in the previous year's fan poll.
His impressive run continued into the 2023-24 season. On 28 January 2024, Mamardashvili made club history by breaking the team record with his 60th consecutive appearance as a starter in La Liga. He eventually played in 69 consecutive league matches. During this third season at Valencia, he achieved impressive results, including improving his clean sheet record to 13. He also saved the most penalties in La Liga (3), a record shared with Unai Simón, and was credited with preventing the most goals in the league. Based on his outstanding performances, Mamardashvili was nominated for the Yashin Trophy, an award annually presented by France Football to the world's best goalkeeper. At the Ballon d'Or ceremony held in Paris on 28 October 2024, he secured seventh place in the voting for the prestigious trophy.
2.3. Liverpool FC
On 27 August 2024, it was jointly confirmed by Valencia and Premier League club Liverpool that an agreement had been reached for Mamardashvili to join Liverpool at the start of the 2025-26 season. As part of the arrangement, he was loaned back to Valencia for the 2024-25 season.
3. International career
Mamardashvili has represented Georgia at both youth and senior levels, playing a significant role in his nation's footballing aspirations.
3.1. Youth national team
Mamardashvili made three appearances for the Georgia national under-21 team. In the summer of 2023, he participated in three games during the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The Georgia U21s had a highly successful group stage campaign, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, with Mamardashvili contributing to their notable achievements.
3.2. Senior national team
Mamardashvili made his debut for the senior Georgia national team in a 4-1 friendly defeat against Bulgaria on 8 September 2021. His first official international match came on 9 June 2022, in a 3-0 victory over North Macedonia in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League. For his performance in the return leg against North Macedonia in September, which Georgia won 2-0, Mamardashvili was named in the UEFA Nations League Team of the Week after round 5. Analytical sites like whoscored.com also included him in their monthly and seasonal Best XI for League C.
On 26 March 2024, Mamardashvili played a critical role in Georgia's historic qualification for UEFA Euro 2024. In the play-off final against Greece, Georgia defeated their opponents 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out. Mamardashvili's crucial contribution included saving the first spot kick from Greek forward Anastasios Bakasetas, which helped secure Georgia's first ever qualification for a major international tournament.
He was subsequently selected by Georgia for the Euro 2024 finals in Germany. Mamardashvili started in his side's inaugural match in a major competition, a 3-1 loss against Turkey on 19 June. In the subsequent game against the Czech Republic, he delivered a standout performance, making eleven saves and earning the player of the match award. His display was widely praised, with analytical sites such as Sofascore, Marca, and 90min.com naming him in their Team of Matchday 2, and Sofascore awarding him the second highest aggregate rating point after Spanish midfielder Fabián Ruiz. In the team's third Group F match, Mamardashvili maintained a clean sheet against Portugal, a crucial 2-0 victory that saw Georgia qualify for the knockout stage. He concluded the group stage having made 20 saves, which was seven more than any other goalkeeper at the tournament.
4. Personal life
Giorgi Mamardashvili is the son of Davit Mamardashvili, a former professional goalkeeper who played for clubs such as WIT Georgia and Torpedo Kutaisi. After retiring from playing, his father transitioned into coaching, serving as a goalkeeping coach at Merani Martvili and later at Torpedo Kutaisi.
Mamardashvili began a relationship with model Elene Epitashvili in 2021. The couple married on 18 July 2024. On 22 November 2024, they welcomed their daughter, Eni, into the world.
5. Honours
Mamardashvili has accumulated several honours throughout his club and individual career.
Dinamo Tbilisi
- Erovnuli Liga runner-up: 2018
Valencia CF
- Copa del Rey runner-up: 2021-22
Individual
- Goalkeeper of the Year in Georgia: 2020
- Georgian Footballer of the Year: 2024
- Yashin Trophy nomination: 2024 (7th place)
6. Career statistics
This section provides a statistical overview of Giorgi Mamardashvili's professional football career, detailing his appearances and goal records for both club and international teams.
6.1. Club statistics
The following table provides detailed statistics for Giorgi Mamardashvili's club career, reflecting appearances and goals across various competitions, including league matches, national cup tournaments, and European competitions. The "Other" column includes appearances in the Erovnuli Liga relegation play-offs and the Supercopa de España.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2018 | Erovnuli Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||
| Rustavi (loan) | 2019 | Erovnuli Liga | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| Locomotive Tbilisi (loan) | 2020 | Erovnuli Liga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 23 | 0 | |||
| Total | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
| Valencia | 2021-22 | La Liga | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2022-23 | 38 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |||
| 2023-24 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 37 | 0 | ||||
| 2024-25 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 21 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 114 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 121 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 171 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 188 | 0 | ||
6.2. International statistics
The following table summarizes Giorgi Mamardashvili's appearances and goals for the Georgia national team on an annual basis.
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 0 | |