Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini claims Chelsea’s Jorginho should WIN the Ballon d’Or

Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini claims Chelsea’s Jorginho should WIN Ballon d’Or this year as the Italy Euro 2020 winners face each other in Champions League showdown tonight

• Giorgio Chiellini and Jorginho were triumphant Italy team-mates at Euro 2020 
• The pair are close friends and Chiellini spoke glowingly about Jorginho 
• They face off on Wednesday as Juventus host Chelsea in the Champions League 
• Chiellini will be focusing on dealing with Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku  

By Kieran Jackson For Mailonline

Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini believes his Italy team-mate Jorginho should win the Ballon d’Or as the close friends face off in the Champions League on Wednesday night. 

Jorginho, who won the Champions League with Chelsea and Euro 2020 with his country last season, was named UEFA Men’s Player of the Year earlier this month. 

However, as the Blues continue their European defence, the Italian pair will face each other at the Juventus Stadium tonight yet Chiellini nonetheless spoke glowingly about Jorginho in a pre-match press conference.   

Juventus’ Giorgio Chiellini believes his Italy team-mate Jorginho should win the Ballon d’Or

The pair were both integral to Italy’s famous triumph at Euro 2020 in the summer 

‘I hope he’ll be able to win, he is a good friend of mine. It’s an award that would feel like it was mine.

‘He was involved in a win and emotions that will always be in our hearts. I’ve always thought he was a good player but after the first few training sessions, I realised how good he is, what a top player he is.

‘He has great technical qualities, but the real difference is in his head. Many said he was only able to play with Sarri, but everywhere he goes he is a regular starter. I really hope he will win the Ballon d’Or.’

Chiellini will come up against a familiar nemesis in Romelu Lukaku tonight, with the former Inter Milan forward having moved to the Blues for £98m in the summer. 

The Belgian scored 30 goals in 44 games for Inter last season in a Serie A winning season but Chiellini insisted tonight’s clash would come down to more than just the pair’s battle.  

Chiellini will come up against a familiar nemesis in former Inter striker Romelu Lukaku tonight

‘Maybe it’s a little bit diminishing to only talk about me and Lukaku,’ he said. ‘We would be fortunate enough if we play a balanced game without conceding too many spaces to their midfielders and forward.

‘In those situations it is difficult to mark them, we have to be extremely careful not to create those situations that can let them express their quality.

‘Lukaku is on top, he is a new signing that Chelsea have paid a lot for. He’s not there by chance.’

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