As a child, he lived in the Didube district of the city with his father, Robinzon (an engineer),[5] his mother Khatuna (a teacher) and his elder sister.

[6] Robinzon was keen to see his son succeed as a footballer, sometimes making him walk around the family home on his knees to strengthen his legs, and enrolled him for Dinamo Tbilisi's junior side when he was six years old.

[9] After a season in the top flight with Mretebi, Kinkladze was signed by Dinamo Tbilisi, the team he represented as a youth, for one million roubles.

[13] However, due to the ongoing Georgian Civil War, during 1993 the Dinamo Tbilisi management sought to put their players in a more stable environment.

[15] Dinamo president Merab Jordania was still uncomfortable with Kinkladze playing in Georgia amid political instability, and offered the player to Atlético Madrid for approximately £200,000; they gave him a trial, but no contract.

Kinkladze met his childhood hero Diego Maradona, but did not gain a permanent contract, as manager Silvio Marzolini regarded him as too similar to Boca's Argentine international playmaker Alberto Márcico.

Enthused by Kinkladze's display, Lee contacted Jordania, securing an agreement that Manchester City would have first refusal should Dinamo wish to sell the player.

"[17] When the teams met again at Cardiff Arms Park, scouts from several clubs saw Kinkladze score the only goal of the game with a 20-yard (18 m) chip over Southall.

[19] After initial difficulties obtaining a work permit, Kinkladze made his debut for Manchester City against Tottenham Hotspur in a 1–1 draw on 19 August 1995.

[20] On the final day of the season, Manchester City were relegated to the First Division, prompting transfer speculation linking Kinkladze to a number of clubs including Barcelona,[30] Internazionale,[30] Liverpool,[31] and Celtic.

With Keith Curle no longer at the club, Kinkladze became the main penalty taker,[33] and also scored a number of goals from free-kicks, including a 35-yard (32 m) effort against Swindon Town described by English newspaper Manchester Evening News as "like a missile".

[46] Kinkladze was played out of position on the right wing, much to his displeasure,[47] and gave a performance that the Manchester Evening News summarised as "barely noticeable".

"[49] With two games remaining, Manchester City were in the relegation places, and Kinkladze was restored to the starting lineup for the home match against Queens Park Rangers (QPR).

The QPR team contained Vinnie Jones, who had a violent reputation and played using the axiom "if their top geezer gets sorted out early doors, you win".

Defending described by The Observer's reporter as a "calamity" culminated in an unusual own goal from Jamie Pollock, and meant the match ended in a 2–2 draw.

He played regular international football during this period of his career, including in a 0–0 draw with three-time World Cup winners Italy.

[56] Following transfer negotiations which had been ongoing in the final months of the season, Kinkladze left Manchester City for Dutch club Ajax for £5 million.

To compound matters, manager Morten Olsen was sacked early in the season, and a disagreement with replacement Jan Wouters resulted in Kinkladze losing his place in the team.

[66][67] Kinkladze missed the start of the 2000–01 season due to a hernia operation,[68] to the disappointment of Smith, who expected him to become a leading figure at the club.

[79] Frustrated by a lack of opportunities, Kinkladze took the unusual step of using his lawyer to arrange a meeting with Todd to discuss his exclusion from the first team.

[84] However, Kinkladze, whose contract ended in summer 2003, was reluctant to leave the club and turned down a move to Turkish champions Galatasaray.

[85] As the club continued its attempts to terminate Kinkladze's contract, he trained with the reserve team up to 29 September 2002, missing Derby's first five matches of the 2002–03 season.

[91] He intended to quit, but although his agent admitted interest from German side Hamburg and a second enquiry from Galatasaray,[91] no move transpired and he remained at the club.

[93][94] Kinkladze decided to turn down this contract extension proposal, desiring a move to a more successful club with a chance of winning trophies.

Anorthosis ended the season successfully by winning the Cypriot championship and earned a place in the qualifying rounds of 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, where, thanks to the club's good run, Kinkladze played five times.

[113] His display against Rangers caught the attention of Rubin Kazan’s manager Gurban Berdiýew, who invited him to join the Russian club.

"[121] The next game for Rubin was a 5–1 away win against low-ranked Terek Grozny, and Kinkladze made a considerable contribution to it, scoring two goals and making two assists.

[140] In October, he was an unused substitute just once; he and his compatriots were the subject of criticism from Rubin's general director who announced to the press "there are questions about the Georgians in the team regarding their training and attitude to football".

[79] Unwillingness to tackle and accusations of a lack of effort were also the source of Joe Royle's omission of Kinkladze from his Manchester City side.

Periods when Kinkladze was used in this way included Frank Clark's first months as Manchester City manager,[151] and alongside Fabrizio Ravanelli at Derby County.