The current Arsenal midfielder came to England in 2018 when he joined Chelsea from Napoli, spending four-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge before moving across London last January.
The Italy international was speaking to The Athletic Football Podcast when he was asked to name his best opponent during his time in the English top flight, ultimately plumping for Mo Salah after considerable thought. Jorginho declared: “Kevin de Bruyne is ridiculous, but I think Salah in that period, he was another level. I think, yeah, I would put Salah first.”
When podcast host Ayo Akinwolere referenced the 2018/19 campaign in which Liverpool’s number 11 was the joint-top scorer in the Premier League with 22 goals, the Arsenal midfielder replied: “Unbelievable. You could not stop him. He was so strong, so powerful, so fast and his mentality…
“However he would shoot, if you touched the ball it would go in. For me, that season he had was unbelievable.” Jorginho has faced Salah more often than anyone else in his career, with their 17 previous head-to-heads between their respective meetings in Italy and England producing nine wins for the Liverpool forward and only three for the Italian (Transfermarkt).
For a European champion to rate the Egyptian ahead of a top-class operator in De Bruyne is a telling indicator of just how special a player the Reds have in the 31-year-old winger.
Jorginho has named one Liverpool player as the best he’s ever faced during his time in the Premier League.
