“The City lawyers said” – Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko reveals Manchester City contract details in new book | OneFootball

Former Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko has shone light on his contractual agreement with the Premier League champions in his new book.

The now-27-year-old is arguably the finest example of the City Football Group’s project working to full effect, having been originally signed as an emerging profile within the game but a player more likely to be sold on for profit rather than reaching the Etihad Stadium.

Having first signed from Manchester City in the summer of 2016 from Russian side FC Ufa for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £1.7 million, with interest also from Borussia Dortmund, Zinchenko was loaned out to PSV for the season.

However, upon returning to the club for the 2017/18 season, Zinchenko was retained by Pep Guardiola to be granted an opportunity to impress and showcase his talents in a variety of roles, particularly at left-back.

And that is where Zinchenko found most success during his time for the club, going on to register a remarkable 128 appearances across all competitions, winning an outstanding 10 trophies in the process.

Writing in his new book ‘Believe’, looking across his life so far and his rise to the top of the professional game, Oleksandr Zinchenko shone light on Manchester City’s contractual arrangement with him through two Premier League title wins in particular.

“The City lawyers said, ‘Look, this is an academy player contract, right? As soon as you make your first official game for City, we’re going to extend your contract with the real money that we pay full professionals. Not this academy player deal. So trust us’, Zinchenko said.

“Of course I said yes,” he continued. “Follow the dream. But do you know when my next contract came? The one that put me on full professional money?

“After I had played 43 games in the Premier League! I won two Premier League titles playing on an academy contract.”

Zinchenko would ultimately bring an end to his six-year association with Manchester City in the summer of 2022 by joining Mikel Arteta at Arsenal in search of more consistent first-team opportunities and a fresh challenge at the top of the game.

Arsenal agreed a long-term contract with the multi-Premier League title-winning defender as well as a reported £30 million agreement with Manchester City, potentially rising to £32 million in add-ons.