Jorginho

Born in Imbituba in Santa Catarina, Jorginho credits his mother with introducing him to football. In his first-person Players’ Tribune essay, he described playing with her on the beach before leaving home for a football school as a young teenager. At 15 he moved to Verona, where a difficult period away from his family preceded his breakthrough in professional football.Source: The Players’ Tribune · Jorginho essay ↗

Hellas Verona led to Napoli and then Chelsea, where his passing role became closely associated with Maurizio Sarri’s football. His European honours included the Europa League and Champions League, and his 2021 success with Italy added a national-team European title. He subsequently played for Arsenal before accepting the opportunity to play senior club football in Brazil for the first time.Source: FIFA ↗

Flamengo introduced him in June 2025. At his presentation he explained that the timing and the club made the return appealing after almost two decades in Europe. He chose squad number 21 because 2021 had been the most important year of his career. The choice tied his new chapter to the club and international achievements he had already experienced.Source: Flamengo · player presentation ↗

His reflections on the game often return to the people who helped him persist. He has described living on a small weekly allowance in Italy, staying in contact with family in Brazil and receiving their encouragement when he considered returning home. That support is central to his own account of becoming an international footballer; his present club is Flamengo, whose 2026 squad lists him.Sources: The Players’ Tribune · Jorginho essay ↗ · Flamengo · official player profile ↗