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Roberto Mancini has become the latest to back Jorginho for the Ballon d'Or. The Italy manager claims the Chelsea midfielder has won a lot this year and deserves to be awarded the trophy in December.
The Ballon d'Or nominees are out for the 2021 award, and Chelsea have five players on the 30-man shortlist. Cesar Azpilicueta, Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, Romelu Lukaku and Mason Mount have made it, with the Italian reportedly one of the leading contenders for the award.
Roberto Mancini was speaking to reporters after the UEFA Nations League win over Belgium when he backed Jorginho to win the Ballon d'Or. The Italian manager said:
"They are there because they are good, not because of me. Jorginho should, in my opinion, win the Ballon d'Or. He has won everything and deserves it a lot. It would seem strange to me otherwise."
While Jorginho is one of the favorites, many believe it should be one of Lionel Messi or Robert Lewandowski winning the Ballon d'Or this year.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel backs Jorginho for Ballon d'Or
Thomas Tuchel was asked about Jorginho possibly winning the Ballon d'Or this year, and the Chelsea manager backed his star player.
The German claimed Jorginho deserved the award as he was a vital part of Chelsea and Italy winning their trophies in 2021.
"Jorginho deserves to win the Ballon d'Or. He is a very intelligent player and it is a pleasure to be his coach. He has a great vision of football. For me, individual prizes do not have great significance, it is impossible to make a real comparison between several players of different roles.
"I would like one of my players to win it because I would know what the effect would be. Then Jorginho is a good person and an excellent player, but in general it (winning an individual prize) is not the most important thing."
Jorginho could not help Italy win the UEFA Nations League this month as they lost to Spain in the semi-final. However, they did manage to beat Belgium in the third-place play-off on Sunday.
