Harry Diamond
Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has insisted that his relationship with the club’s former manager, Maurizio Sarri, was strictly a professional one.
The Italy international played under Sarri at Napoli, before following his compatriot to Stamford Bridge last summer in a deal which could rise to £57m, though the 27-year-old endured a difficult debut season in English football.
Chelsea fans voiced their discontent at Sarri’s methods last season, with Jorginho often a target for critics due to his fundamental role in the manager’s ‘Sarri-ball’ style, especially considering he dislodged N’Golo Kante from his preferred role as a deep-lying midfielder.
Jorginho was often regarded as the ‘teacher’s pet’ due to his importance to the manager last season, however he insists his bond with Sarri was no different to that of any other player, and hopes to stay at Chelsea for a ‘long time’.
“He was my manager, he wasn’t my friend,” Jorginho told the Daily Mail.
“We worked together for four years but this is another time, it is another page, another chapter, another time in my life. I look forward to that now.
“Sarri has left and I have stayed here and I need to do a job for my team at Chelsea.
“I have a long contract, four more years and I am very happy at the moment and very happy at Chelsea and hope to be here a long time.”
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