Chelsea's majestic midfielder Jorginho took to social media last night after receiving the UEFA Player of the Year award to mock BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand, who had previously said the Italian couldn't run or defend.
The 29 year old, who has been extremely impressive for both club and country in the last twelve months, shared a video which included comments Ferdinand had made in January 2019.
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"He's not a great defender," former Manchester United and England star Ferdinand says in the clip. "Once the game gets like this against the big teams, he gets overrun in midfield. He can't run."
After an indifferent start to life in England, Jorginho has proved Ferdinand and his doubters wrong in recent months. In addition to being a part of the Chelsea side that lifted the Champions League in May, the ex-Napoli man was instrumental in Italy lifting the Euro 2020 crown this summer.
These successes, plus a string of exceptional individual displays, saw him take the coveted prize of UEFA Player of the Year, ahead of other, outstanding candidates like Kevin de Bruyne and teammate N'Golo Kanté.
Jorginho has admitted that the criticism he faced during his first season or so at Stamford Bridge motivated him to become the midfielder he is today.
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"My start at Chelsea made me miss it (Napoli) even more," he said in a piece for The Player's Tribune. "We all remember what they were saying, right? I was too slow, I was too weak. I was Sarri's son. Man, it made me so angry.
But listen, they underestimated me. You see, I've had a turbulent start at every club I've been with. Every club. It's incredible.
So the Chelsea stuff? Puh! I just used the criticism as fuel. I was thinking 'these people are going to be embarrassed.' And now I'm sitting here with a Europa League title and a Champions League title.
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So to all the critics, I just want to say one thing. Thank you. Really, thank you all."
Jorginho played 90 minutes in Chelsea's first match of this year's Champions League last night, impressing in a 1-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg.
He'll look to build on his and his club's excellent start to the Premier League season in an intriguing London Derby at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this Sunday.
Topics: Chelsea, Premier League, Rio Ferdinand, Champions League, Italy, Jorginho