Ukraine international Oleksandr Zinchenko (25) reacted to Russia’s invasion of his homeland on Instagram.
The Manchester City player addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin (69) directly: “I hope you die the most painful death, you disgusting creature!”
A short time after the post on Tuesday evening, the post was deleted from the platform, “from Instagram,” as Zinchenko emphasized.
In an emotional post he added a little later: “My country belongs to the Ukrainians and nobody will ever be able to appropriate it.”
The Ukrainian played for Russian club FK Ufa and Shakhtar Donetsk in his youth and captained his national team during the World Cup qualifiers in March 2021.
Zinchenko: “The whole civilized world is concerned about the situation in my country. The country where I was born and grew up and whose colors I defend in the international sports arenas. The country we are trying to glorify and develop. A country whose borders must remain intact.”
His club Manchester City plays at Everton on Saturday at 6.30 p.m. It is questionable whether Zinchenko will play at all due to the recent events …
