Chelsea midfielder Jorginho revealed that he once failed a trial with Palmeiras as a boy and he gave his thoughts on last year’s Ballon d’Or.
The 30-year-old Italian-Brazilian won the Champions League with Chelsea and Euro 2020 with Italy last year, and his strong performances and results saw him finish third in the final Ballon d’Or rankings, 120 points behind second place Robert Lewandowski and 153 points behind winner Lionel Messi.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Club World Cup final against Palmeiras tomorrow, Jorginho first revealed his history with the Brazilian club.
“I’ve never played professionally in Brazil, and I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I tried to play for Palmeiras when I was a 12-year-old boy, but they didn’t take me.
“That’s the only memory I have of Palmeiras and it’s really strange that 18 years later I find myself playing against them in a Club World Cup final. I think it’s a crazy coincidence, but that’s what football is.
“Everything sometimes has to happen for a reason, so maybe it was for the best. I talked to my teammates and tried to explain how important it is for Brazilians to win a trophy.”
He touched on if the Blues were the favourites in the match.
“It’s certainly a great incentive for us and we will try to win the title.”
Finally, Jorginho highlighted that he doesn’t care about the Ballon d’Or following his third place finish last year.
“It doesn’t matter if I haven’t won it, I’ve had great players before me who have had great years. I’m only focused on the idea of winning tomorrow. These are the words of Jorginho on the eve of the match against Palmeiras.”
The 30-year-old Jorginho has made 31 appearances across all competitions so far this season, for a total of 2373 minutes. In that time, he has scored nine goals and provided one assist, being a core part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad in West London.
#Chelsea, le parole di #Jorginho alla vigilia del match contro il #Palmeirashttps://t.co/hFfRVwhfQq
— Si Gonfia La Rete (@_SiGonfiaLaRete) February 11, 2022