Jorginho has opened up on what was the 'hardest part' of his career.
The Chelsea midfielder has become one of Stamford Bridge's most loved players in recent times, especially after the outstanding year he's had.
After helping guide the Blues to victory in the Champions League, the Italian was successful with Italy at Euro 2020, putting in performances that earned him the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award in August.
He went on to finish third in this year's Ballon d'Or running, coming behind Robert Lewandowski in second and Lionel Messi, who picked up the award for a record breaking seventh time.
But like most footballers, the road to being successful took a lot of hard work and dedication, something that Jorginho has recently opened up on.
Born in Santa Catarina in Brazil, Jorginho didn't move to Italy until the age of 15, but only after he suffered two extremely difficult years as a teenager trying to achieve his dream, as he has since admitted.
"I think I was 12 years old. My father took me to Sao Paulo for some trials with some clubs. He took me to Sao Paulo, Palmeiras, I ended up at Internacional, too. And none of those teams accepted me," he told the Players' Tribune.
"It was a disappointment, but I came back firmly with the same dream: I'm still going to be a football player.
"I returned to my hometown to play at Villa Nova's school, which at the time, had Mario Junior as a coach. I was playing there when an Italian football agent came to watch a weekend tournament.
"He had a project, a football school in a small town called Guabiruba, in Santa Catarina. The goal of the school was to send players to Europe, mainly to Italy."
Jorginho's parents spoke to Mario Junior and asked Jorginho whether it was something he wanted to do.
Although it was something he felt he needed to do at the time, he's since admitted how difficult he found it growing up.
"My Mum and Dad talked to him, listened, asked what I wanted to do, and I said, 'this is my opportunity.' What child doesn't dream of playing in Europe, right?"
"I went to this school and, honestly, it was the hardest part, those two years. It was the hardest part of my career.
"My family were unable to bring me home every weekend, so I had to stay. Sometimes I stayed for one, two months. Once, I even spent three months there.
"I ate the same food three times a day, took cold showers in winter, because there was no hot water. Outside, there were gangs in the city that would try to rob us. It was very difficult, because the situation was very precarious.
"My mother came to visit me, and said, 'get your things, because we're leaving here now.' I said, 'Mum, I'm not going.' She said, 'we come from a humble family, but you don't need that. You won't live like that.'"
Despite his mother's best efforts to persuade him to leave, Jorginho was determined to stay, and was later selected to go to Italy where he made it as a footballer.
"I said if she forced me to go and I didn't become a football player, I would blame her for the rest of my life. 'This is my opportunity, I won't give up.'
"Two years later I was selected to go to Europe, to Italy."
His hard work and determination is certainly admirable, and that attitude has helped him to succeed at the very top level of the game.
