Chelsea Star Jorginho Tipped to Win Ballon d'Or Snubs His Teammates, Fancies Rival Man City Star to Win Award

• Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho is among the frontrunners to win this year's Ballon d'Or award
• However, the 29-year-old has suggested Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne deserves the prize
• The Italian admitted he would pick De Bruyne over anyone else from the shortlist of players nominated for the prestigious award

Jorginho has snubbed Chelsea teammates in his choice for the Ballon d'Or award.

The Blues have five players shortlisted for the prize, including Jorginho who also made the shortlist.

Other Blues players in the race to cart home the gong includes N'Golo Kante, Romelu Lukaku, Mason Mount, and Cesar Azpilicueta.

The five will come up against the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Robert Lewandowski, and serial winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Jorginho is believed to be among the frontrunners for the award after his stunning form in 2021 that saw him win the Champions League with Chelsea before orchestrating Italy's triumph at the Euro 2020.

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While discussing the race for the award, the Italian midfielder joked he is not expecting many votes and revealed he would pick Man City's De Bruyne as his choice for the individual prize.

The 29-year-old hailed De Bruyne as an intelligent player, claiming he plays beautiful football.

“If I don’t vote for me, who will vote? I want to have at least one vote!” Jorginho joked while speaking to ESPN Brazil.

“I believe I’d vote for Kevin De Bruyne for everything he’s been doing and for the beautiful football he’s been showing in recent years. For those who like football, it’s great to see him play because he understands football, he is a player with above-average intelligence," he added.

Chelsea manager Tuchel backs Jorginho to win Ballon d'Or

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has said Jorginho deserves to win the Ballon d'Or award.

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Jorginho played a central role in the Blues' stunning Champions League campaign last season which saw them lift the European title after silencing Man City in the final staged in Porto.

The 29-year-old midfielder followed up the success by helping Italy to conquer Europe as they won the 2020 Euros.

His stellar campaign saw him listed among a number of top footballers for the Ballon d'Or award.

The 30-man list for the prize was dominated by Premier League players.

However, Tuchel has suggested Jorginho deserves to win the award, describing the Italy international as "an intelligent player" who he has been privileged to manage.