Chelsea Star Backed to Win Ballon d'Or Ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
- Jorginho had a stellar 2020/21 season with both club and country as he won two major titles
- The midfielder helped Chelsea lift the Champions League before inspiring Italy to Euro glory
- Messi and Ronaldo are the other players who have been touted as favourites for Ballon d'Or
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Former Chelsea star Gianfranco Zola has backed Jorginho to win this year's Ballon d'Or award ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Jorginho is a clear frontrunner for the award, thanks to his incredible success over the last year where he won the Champions League with Chelsea and the European Championship with Italy.
The Italian midfielder played a central role in the Blues' squad that beat rivals Man City to storm to European glory.
He was also among the standout players during the Euro 2020 as Italy triumphed in the continental showpiece.
Despite being among favourites for the Ballon d'Or, Daily Mail reports he will have to contend with competition from a number of players including teammate N'Golo Kante, Messi, and Robert Lewandowski.
However, Zola, who was also a coach at Chelsea believes it is Jorginho who deserves the individual prize.
"Should they give it to Jorginho? It would be deserved. He gives concrete balance and pace to his teams. I was lucky to have him at Chelsea and I know what he does on the pitch," Mail Online quoted Zola saying.
"It would be deserved because not only were his performances at a high level, but the teams he played for have been outstanding. This must be taken into account," the former Italy international added.
Messi, who had an equally fantastic season has won the award a record six times, with Ronaldo taking home five of those.
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Jorginho lays claim on Ballon d'Or
Jorginho believes he deserves to win the Ballon d'Or award this year ahead of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and others.
The former Napoli star argued if the winner was to be chosen by titles, then no one matches his achievement thus far.
However, he conceded if talent would be considered, then he had no chance compared to the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, among others.
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Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
