“Zenit received a player from the Russian national team, this will help vary the composition” – Konstantin Zyryanov

Chairman of the Board of Zenit Konstantin Zyryanov told Match TV that thanks to the transfer of Russian national team defender Igor Diveev, the St. Petersburg team had the opportunity to vary the composition.

On Sunday, Zenit announced the transfer of Diveev from CSKA. The 26-year-old football player’s agreement with the St. Petersburg club runs until the end of the 2028/29 season. On the same day, CSKA announced the transfer of striker Luciano from Zenit. The agreement with the 24-year-old football player runs until the end of the 2029/30 season.

— With this transfer, Zenit was guided by the fact that, firstly, it was getting a player from the Russian national team, and secondly, a player of a good level with a Russian passport in the center of defense, which gives the coaching staff the opportunity to vary the composition. It should be taken into account that Zenit exchanged the main defender of the opposing team for a striker who did not receive much playing time at Zenit in the first part of the championship. Of course, it is still impossible to say for whom this deal is more profitable – for Zenit or CSKA, time will tell. But let’s hope both teams benefit from this trade.

— How would you evaluate this deal from a financial point of view?

– Again, depending on what you start from. Now we can state that the deal has been completed by mutual agreement of the clubs and both can be happy.

— How difficult were the negotiations with Cruzeiro regarding Gerson, which ended in a record transfer for the Brazilian club?

— A new head coach has joined the team, who knows Gerson well and is counting on him very much. At the same time, any negotiations are never simple. This one was no exception. It’s just that no one was going to pay such a sum for a player,” Zyryanov told Match TV.

Gerson’s transfer to Cruzeiro became the most expensive in the history of Brazilian football. Taking into account bonuses and various options, it is about 35 million euros.

Diveev has played for CSKA since 2019. The defender has 203 matches for the army team, 20 goals and five assists. The footballer played 19 matches for the Russian national team and scored one goal.

Zenit is in second place in the MIR RPL standings after 18 rounds, gaining 39 points. CSKA is in fourth place with 36 points.

Watch live broadcasts of MIR RPL matches on the Match TV and MATCH PREMIER TV channels, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.