Former football player of Zenit and the Russian national team Smolnikov ended his career at 35

Former defender of the Russian national football team Igor Smolnikov announced the end of his sports career.

The last club of the 35-year-old footballer was Lokomotiv Moscow, where he moved in the winter of 2023 and left on June 30 after the contract expired.

– He completed his playing career and has already gone to study as a coach. I want to sincerely thank everyone with whom fate brought me as a footballer – the management of the clubs, the guys I played with, the coaches I worked with, the medical and administrative headquarters of the teams I played for. Thank you all so much – without you my career would not have been possible! And most importantly, I would like to thank my family, who always supported me in everything in the course of my career and moved me forward! – quotes Smolnikov “Match TV”.

Smolnikov is a three-time champion of Russia (seasons 2014/15, 2018/19, 2019/20), a two-time winner of the Cup (2015/16, 2019/20) and the Super Cup (2015, 2016) of the country as part of the St. Petersburg “Zenith”.

As part of the Russian national team, Smolnikov took part in the 2018 home world championship, where the national team reached the quarterfinals. In total, he made 30 appearances for the national team between 2013 and 2020.