Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho has played down the suggestion of international colleague Lorenzo Insigne that he could be a contender to win the Ballon d’Or later this year.
Jorginho helped Chelsea win the Champions League last season and has been an important player for an Italy team that could yet go all the way at Euro 2020, playing almost every minute so far.
Players who win multiple major trophies are often put in the running for individual awards and it was Insigne following Italy’s win over Austria in the last 16 who said, “[Jorginho] has spent some fantastic years at Chelsea and I am proud to have him in our team. I'm not the one deciding if he deserves the Ballon d'Or, but I hope he'll be shortlisted, he deserves so, he is a great player.”
However, Jorginho himself insists that individual accolades are not on his mind.
“I don't think about it,” the 29-year-old is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
“Everything that is happening is the consequence of hard work. My priority is the group and celebrating together with my teammates and friends. This is more beautiful than celebrating alone.”
No Italian player has won the Ballon d’Or, or even finished in the top three, since the prestigious golden trophy was presented to centre-back Fabio Cannavaro in 2006.
The legendary centre-back won the Ballon d'Or off the back of captaining Italy to glory at the 2006 World Cup so it stands to reason that the next winner of the iconic award could come from whichever country goes on to win Euro 2020.
But simply winning trophies isn’t necessarily all that count. Raphael Varane was famously the only player that won both the Champions League and the World Cup in 2018, but he only finished seventh in the final standings, with the award going to club teammate Luka Modric instead.
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Source : 90min