MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. Striker of the St. Petersburg football club “Zenith” Malcolm received a Russian passport. The player of the St. Petersburg club showed the document to journalists on Sunday after match World – Russian Premier League (RPL) against CSKA Moscow (0:1), a TASS correspondent reports from the scene.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 by his decree has provided Russian citizenship to the Brazilian players of “Zenith” Malcolm and Claudinho. The corresponding document was published on the official portal of legal information.
In September 2022, Zenit CEO Alexander Medvedev, in a conversation with TASS, noted that if they receive Russian citizenship after a certain period, namely in 2024 for Malcolm and in 2026 for Claudinho, it will be possible to talk about their obtaining sports citizenship, which is tantamount to the right to play for the Russian national team.
Malcolm, 26, has scored 19 goals and provided 7 assists in 25 games for Zenit in all competitions this season. He moved to the St. Petersburg club in August 2019, as part of the team he won the championship and the Russian Super Cup three times, and the national cup once.
