Arsenal’s Martinelli Insists Jorginho Deserves Ballon d’Or Award

Arsenal and Brazilian forward, Gabriel Martinelli has noted that his club teammate, Jorginho deserved to win the Ballon d’Or.

Jorginho was so close to winning the Ballon d’Or after helping Italy win the 2020 European Championship in 2021. In the same year, he helped Chelsea to win the UEFA Champions League title.

Due to these major triumphs, the Italian midfielder finished third in the 2021 Ballon d’Or rankings behind Lionel Messi (the winner) and second-placed Robert Lewandowski.

After the announcement of the winner, some football enthusiasts argued that Jorginho achieved more than the first and second-placed players in the ranking.

Martinelli seems to be one of those football enthusiasts who thought the Italian midfielder deserved the award ahead of Lionel Messi.

The Brazilian star said on Arsenal’s YouTube channel that the Italy international deserves it.

He said, “This here is one of Jorginho’s strengths, I can’t even find the words to describe it.

“I think he deserved to win the Ballon d’Or a while ago.”

Jorginho left Chelsea for Arsenal on January 31, 2023, after scoring 29 goals and providing 8 assists in 213 games in all competitions.

Since the Italian midfielder joined Arsenal for a transfer fee worth €11.30 million, he has managed to score a goal and provided two assists in 44 games in all competitions.