The list of players who have done that odd thing and played for both Arsenal and Chelsea is a long one, with numerous footballers of the modern era going on the journey of running out at both The Emirates and Stamford Bridge. Jorginho is another in a long line of lads who have worn both Red and Blue, but also making the transition directly from one club to the other rather than going via another side, like you might sometimes see for rivals such as Manchester United and Liverpool or Newcastle United and Sunderland. The Brazilian-born defensive midfielder arrived at Chelsea with a good reputation, then departed for North London in 2023.
Who is Jorginho?
Jorge Luiz Frello Filho was born on the 20th of December 1991 in the coastal town of Imbituba, Brazil. Of Italian descent thanks to his paternal great-grandfather, Giacomo Frello, the player who became known as Jorginho left Brazil as a 15-year-old for Italy. As he was growing up he enjoyed playing football and saw Gheorghe Hagi, the Romanian player, as his ideal. This led to his friends giving him the nickname of Haginho, although he also looked to model his game after the likes of Xavi, Andrea Pirlo and Ronaldinho. He married Natalia Letter in 2017, having a son and a daughter before divorcing two years later.
Playing in Italy
In 2006, still living in Brazil, Jorginho joined Brusque’s youth system, but soon moved to Italy and became part of the Academy at Hellas Verona. In the June of 2010, the club decided to loan him out to Sambonifacese, the Lega Pro Seconda Division side. It was there where he gained genuine experience of playing a full season, making 31 appearances for the Veneto club and scoring once. He also made ten assists from midfielder, which was enough to persuade Hellas Verona to give him a debut on the fourth of September 2011, coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute of a game against Sassuolo.
He gained more and more playing time of the years that followed, establishing himself as a solid midfielder to such an extent that Napoli made a move to sign him on. On the 18th of January 2014 it was confirmed that he would be co-owned by Napoli and Hellas Verona four four-and-a-half years. In the semi-final of the Coppa Italia, Jorginho scored the final goal as Napoli came back to overturn a 3-2 deficit against Roma and put themselves in the competition’s final. He then played the full 90 minutes of the final as he picked up the first major silverware of his career, helping Napoli to defeat Fiorentina 3-1.
Moving to Chelsea
The 2014 Supercoppa Italiana was played in Doha for some reason, likely to do with Qatar’s attempts to sports-wash its reputation as it looked to host the 2022 World Cup. Jorginho went out to play the final against Juventus but was initially on the sub’s bench. He replaced Jonathan de Guzmán in the second-half of extra-time as the game was heading towards penalties and when it went to spot-kicks he took Napoli’s first. As is so often the case with players brought on specifically for penalties, it was saved by Gianluigi Buffon, but was ultimately unimportant as Napoli won the shootout. Having struggled for playing time, his fortunes were about to change.
Rafael Benítez was never really sure about Jorginho, but when he was replaced as Napoli manager by Maurizio Sarri things began to change. He started playing regularly, with Sarri playing him in a deep-lying midfielder spot that allowed him to dictate the play. He made a breakthrough in the 2017-2018 season, helping Napoli to challenge for the Serie A title. It was enough to catch the eye of Chelsea, who had been watching Napoli as they brought Sarri in as a replacement for Antonio Conte, who was sacked on the 13th of July 2018. A day later and both Sarri and Jorginho arrived at Stamford Bridge, with the latter signing a five-year deal.
Settling in with the Blues
Having paid £50 million for him, with the fee potentially rising to £57 million, Chelsea looked to make the most of Jorginho’s talents. His debut came in the Community Shield game at Wembley Stadium. He had reportedly been close to joining Chelsea’s opponents that day, Manchester City, with the City fans booing him as Chelsea fell to a 2-0 loss. Less than a week later and he got his first start in the Premier League, scoring a penalty as the Blues defeated Huddersfield Town 3-0. Considered to be something of a pass-master before he arrived at Stamford Bridge, Jorginho proved it in a 2-1 away win against Newcastle United.
FULL-TIME Newcastle 1-2 Chelsea
Chelsea make it three wins from three after Hazard’s penalty kick and Yedlin’s late own goal overcome an organised Newcastle side#NEWCHE pic.twitter.com/PmGWPshQQM
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 26, 2018
The match saw him compete 158 passes, which set a new record for the most successful passes by a Chelsea Player in the Premier League era, coming second in the top-flight overall behind Ilkay Gündoğan’s 167; ironically scored against Chelsea the previous season. On the 23rd of September Jorginho got the record in his own right, making 180 passes as the Blues struggled to break down London rivals West Ham United in a 0-0 draw. In the 2019 League Cup final, Jorginho once again missed the first penalty in a shootout, seeing Chelsea lose 4-3 to Manchester City, missing an opportunity to add to his silverware collection.
Winning Trophies
Having missed Chelsea’s opening penalty in the League Cup a few months before, Jorginho finally won some silverware with the Blues when he was part of the team that defeated Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final.
That meant that they would play in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup against Liverpool, who had won the 2018-2019 Champions League final against Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The game finished 1-1 in normal time and then went to extra-time, with Liverpool taking the lead before a Jorginho penalty resulted in a 2-2 draw and a penalty shootout. This time he scored his penalty, but Liverpool won anyway.
Thought of as something of a penalty specialist, Jorginho scored twice against Ajax in the Champions League in an eventful November game that ended up 4-4. The following season and he was again successful from the penalty spot, netting on the opening game of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion as well as twice when Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 4-0 at the start of October. He was the club’s leading goalscorer for the season, with all of his goals coming from the penalty spot. On the 29th of May the Blues faced Manchester City in the Champions League final, with Jorginho winning the trophy for the first time as Chelsea won 1-0.
Leaving Stamford Bridge
The win over Manchester City meant that Jorginho and Chelsea once again qualified for the UEFA Super Cup, this time winning 6-5 against Villarreal in a penalty shootout. Having scored the fifth penalty, Jorginho earned a place in the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award, wining it at the expensive of Chelsea teammate N’Golo Kanté and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
Jorginho has won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award! 🥇
Well played, Professor! 👏#UEFAawards #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/iP7Onv4JWe
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) August 26, 2021
He was also included on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or, eventually coming third behind Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski. When Chelsea took part in the FIFA Club World Cup, he played in the semi-final and helped the Blues win 1-0 against Al-Hilal.
That put them in the final, with Jorginho being an unused substitute as Chelsea won against Palmeiras, winning the competition for the first time in the club’s history. The rest of the season panned out without much fanfare, but Jorginho’s time at Chelsea was coming to a close. On the 31st of January 2023, Arsenal paid £12 million for his signature, signing him on a one-and-a-half-year deal with an option to extend it by a further 12 months. His debut came on the fourth of February when he came on as a substitute in the 59th minute as Arsenal lost 1-0 to Everton. It actually took him several months to score his first goal for the Gunners.
On the 18th of February, title-chasing Arsenal went in to a game against Aston Villa on the back of a three-game winless run. As the match was reaching its conclusion, Jorginho had a long-range strike that hit the crossbar before bouncing in off Villa goalkeeper Eli Martínez’s head in a match that the Gunners eventually won 4-2. He got an assist in an away win over Newcastle United on the seventh of May and was given the Man of the Match award, but his first goal didn’t come until the following season. It was a penalty and the last goal of the game in a 6-0 Champions League win over RC Lens.
His contract was extended on the ninth of May 2024.