“Jorginho has a chance but for me, Lewandowski deserves it” - Hristo Stoichkov makes bold Ballon d’Or claim involving Chelsea star

Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov has backed Jorginho to win the Ballon d'Or but not this year. He believes the award should be given to someone who has done it consistently for 4-5 years and claims Robert Lewandowski deserves it.

The Ballon d'Or is awarded to the best player in a calendar year, and has been dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the last 15 years. Only Luka Modric has managed to win the award apart from the aforementioned duo since 2008!

Hristo Stoichkov was speaking with TMW when he was asked about Jorginho possibly winning the Ballon d'Or. He backed the Italian to win it in at some point in his career but feels it should be awarded to Robert Lewandowski this year.

"Jorginho? He has a chance to win this year for what he did with Chelsea and the national team. But it doesn't depend on me, but on the journalists. I would vote for a player who has not done just one year, but 4-5 years at a high level. If he also won the Nations League and the World Cup I would give it to him. For me, however, (Robert) Lewandowski would deserve it," he said.

Jorginho backed to win Ballon d'Or by Chelsea great

Gianfranco Zola has backed Jorginho to win the Ballon d'Or this year. The Chelsea legend believes the Italian midfielder has done enough to get his hands on the award, and his performances this year should not go unnoticed.

"Now we are talking about a fantastic player like Messi who did extraordinary things for the first time with his national team – and this won't go unnoticed. Should they give it to Jorginho? It would be deserved. He gives concrete balance and pace to his teams. I was lucky to have him at Chelsea and I know what he does on the pitch. It would be deserved because not only were his performances at a high level, but the teams he played for have been outstanding. This must be taken into account," said Zola.

We are still a couple of months away from the Ballon d'Or final vote, but reports suggest it will be a tight race between Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho.