Yuri Valentinovic Zhirkov, professionally known as Yuri Zhirkov is a Russian veteran footballer. Having started his football career at Spartak Tambov in 2001, he played for several teams including CSKA Moscow and Chelsea. He currently plays for Zenit Saint Petersburg. He won two Russian Premier League titles, four Russian Cups, and four Russian Super Cups with CSKA Moscow. As a Chelsea player, he won one Premier League and one FA Cup. As a Zenit player, he has already won three Russian Premier League titles, two Russian Cups, and two Russian Super Cups.
He made his senior international debut in 2005 and has already made over 100 appearances for Russia. He has represented Russia at the Euro Cups in 2008, 2012, and 2020, FIFA World Cups in 2014 and 2018.
He plays both full-back or winger.
What is Yuri Zhirkov Famous For?
- Veteran Russian footballer.
- Named Futbol Footballer of the Year in 2008.
Where is Yuri Zhirkov From?
Yuri Zhirkov was born on 20 August 1983. His birth name is Yuri Valentinovich Zhirkov. His birth place is in Tambov, Russian SFSR in the Soviet Union. He holds Russian nationality. He was born to his father Valentin Ivanovich. He has a sister and two brothers.
He grew up in poverty. He received his secondary education at school No. 19. He later entered the school and began training in the specialty of an electrical technician. He later received a diploma in secondary technical education. He graduated from Tambov State University in 2008.
Source: @90min
Yuri Zhirkov Career
- Yuri Zhirkov started playing football at an early age. However, due to poverty, he used to skip training and help his family grow vegetables during the summer.
- His first coach Valery Sharapov signed him for the Tambov Regional Children and Youth Sports School.
- In 1997, he joined the Russian club, Spartak Tambov.
- He was promoted to the club’s first team in 2001.
- From 2001 to 2004, he scored 26 goals in 76 appearances in all competitions.
- He joined the Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow in January 2004.
- He won his first trophy, the Russian Super Cup in 2004.
- He made his UEFA Champions League against Neftchi Baku in July 2004.
- He played for CSKA Moscow from 2004 to 2009 and scored 23 goals in 215 appearances in all competitions.
- As a CSKA Moscow player, he won two Russian Premier League titles, four Russian Cups, four Russian Super Cups, and one UEFA Cup.
- Following his successful stint with Moscow, he moved to England where he signed a four-year contract for a reported transfer fee of 18 million pounds in July 2009.
- In his two seasons at the club, he won the Premier League and FA Cup titles in the 2009-10 season.
- He left Chelsea and went back to Russia to join the Russian Premier League club, Anzhi Makhachkala in 2011. He signed a four-year contract reportedly for 12.3 million pounds.
Source: @gettyimages
- He spent two seasons at the club and reached the Russian Cup final in 2013. They lost to CSKA Moscow in the penalty shootout.
- Zhirkov was one of the players listed for sale by Anzhi to focus on youth developments in 2013.
- Igor Denisov, Aleksandr Kokorin, and Zhirkov all signed with Dynamo Moscow at an undisclosed fee.
- He spent three seasons there.
- In 2016, he signed a two-year contract with Zenit Saint Petersburg.
- Since he joined Zenit in 2016, he has already won several titles.
- As of 2021, he has already won three Russian Premier League titles, two Russian Cups, and two Russian Super Cups.
Source: @gettyiamges
Yuri Zhirkov International Career
- Yuri Zhirkov represented Russia’s U21 teams between 2004 and 2005.
- He made his senior international debut against Italy in February 2005.
- He helped the club to reach the semi-finals in the 2008 UEFA Euro. He was named to the Team of the Tournament and was also included in the Top 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or.
- He represented Russia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012, 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2018 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2020.
- He scored his first senior international goal against Morocco in June 2014.
- He initially retired from international football after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- However, he returned to international football during the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
- He also represented Russia in the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League.
- He was named to the Russian team for UEFA Euro 2020.
- However, he sustained a leg injury during Russia’s opening game against Belgium.
Who is Yuri Zhirkov Wife?
Yuri Zhirkov is a married man. Zhirkov is married to a Russian model named Inna. The couple got married on 1 February 2008. The couple has two sons and a daughter together, Dmitriy and Milana.
How Tall is Yuri Zhirkov?
Yuri Zhirkov stands at a height of 1.8 m i.e. 5 feet and 11 inches tall. He has a body weight of around 76 kg. He has an athletic body build. His eye color is hazel and his hair color is dark brown. His sexual orientation is straight.
What is Yuri Zhirkov Salary and Net Worth?
Yuri Zhirkov is a Russian veteran footballer. In his professional career, he has won numerous Russian Premier Leagues, Russian Cups, and Russian Super Cups with different clubs, CSKA Moscow and Zenit Saint Petersburg. He also won Premier League and FA Cup with Chelsea. He had joined Chelsea for 18 million pounds in 2009. He joined Anzhi for 13.2 million pounds in 2011. He has made his fortune out of his football career. Information about his salary is not known at present. He was paid 4 million Euro in salary in the mid-2010s. Some online news portals have claimed his net worth to be around $1.5 million.
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