Congratulations on your new contract, how are you feeling now?
I’m delighted that I will stay at our beloved club and in this city. Zenit has been more than just a football club for me and my family for a long time. I am grateful to the club’s coaching staff and management for their trust in me. I will try to justify that trust and work together to get new wins.
It was recently the seventh anniversary of you joining Zenit. When you joined in 2017 did you imagine you’d be here for so long?
I probably didn’t expect this. Playing for Zenit is a dream for any footballer. I will continue to believe in this dream and will give 100% in training and in every game and to make the fans happy.
You’ve won so much already at Zenit, what aims and dreams do you have left to accomplish?
I’m motivated by playing football and helping Zenit get new victories. This is my main motivation! I’m very grateful to my family, teammates and the coaches who supported me during this contract negotiations. I’m very happy and grateful that everyone wanted me to stay at Zenit, it meant a lot to me.
You’ll be 35 years old in October, how much energy and enthusiasm do you still have in your opinion? Do you think you’ll be able to continue playing long into the future?
I try not to look at my birth certificate very often! Now I have enough energy and motivation to continue in football, we live for today and now we have training camps ahead and the very interesting anniversary season ahead of us. It’s going to be a very important and interesting year to be a part of Zenit.
Finally, a few words for the fans, who will certainly be very happy about the news.
I’m always very grateful for their support of our fans. From day one they’ve been behind me and I’ve always felt that huge supported for the team and for me in particular. I feel it, and for that I am very grateful.