Jorginho has revealed he chose to join Chelsea rather than Manchester City because of the arrival of Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge.
The 26-year-old midfielder appeared set to move to Pep Guardiola’s title-winning side, having had a personal agreement with the Manchester club, yet he ultimately opted to link up with the west London side following Sarri’s appointment as head coach at Chelsea.
Quizzed about his decision to reject Manchester City for Chelsea, the former Napoli midfielder said the opportunity to continue with his former boss played a big part in his choice. “There are a lot of things behind a negotiation process,” said the midfielder. “I believe Sarri’s arrival played a big part on it. And there’s also the greatness of Chelsea, such a big club. So these factors helped me making my mind [Sarri and I have] a pretty good relationship.
“He’s always bantering, joking with me. He didn’t call me, because he’s not the type to be phoning players, but of course, through agents, I knew what his wish was and what kind of work would be put in here.”
Sarri and Jorginho shared three years at Napoli, in which the 59-year-old turned the Partenopei into one of the most attractive sides in Europe with the Brazil-born Italian international a vital part of his system, directing play and setting the tempo at the base of midfield. Jorginho then shed light into the 59-year-old’s philosophy, affectionately named “Sarri-ball”, which he says is a result of the Chelsea boss’ relentless work on the game’s tactical side.
“[Sarri’s game is] very offensive, very offensive. He’s very tactical and he works a lot on the tactical aspects of the game,” added Jorginho. “You can see the end product when you look at Napoli and how Chelsea are playing now [It’s] good football to watch, entertaining for us players to play in, because there are always good moves and the players have fun playing under him.”
