Former AC Milan Defender Kakha Kaladze Elected as New Mayor of Georgia's Capital City

Former AC Milan defender Kakha Kaladze has been elected the new mayor Georgia's capital city Tbilisi.

The Georgian election administration revealed that the 39-year-old won 51% of the vote in Saturday's municipal election, the BBC Sport have reported.

Kaladze played for Milan from 2001 to 2010 and retired two years after his exit to focus solely on politics.

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He won two Champions Leagues and one Serie A title while at San Siro, and also played for Dynamo Kiev and Dinamo Tbilisi and captained his national team in an esteemed career.

The former Georgia captain campaigned alongside billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili in a challenge against then-president Mikheil Saakashvili.

Kaladze became energy minister in 2012 after Ivanishvili's coalition won a shock parliamentary election victory over Saakashvili's party.

He retired from that position to focus his efforts on running for office in Tbilisi.

"We will have serious challenges, but I hope that we will overcome all difficult barriers," Kaladze said prior to his election. "I don't see October 21 [the election day] as a problem. I anticipate difficulties after October 21."

And Kaladze has expressed his belief that a career in sport is good preparation for entering the world of politics.

"Every time when I talk about success in politics or in sport, I stress how important it is to have a team of professionals," he said.