Published: 22 October, 2009, 12:29
Edited: 22 October, 2009, 14:35
Chelsea’s Russian midfielder Yury Zhirkov has earned ₤1,000 thanks to Rubin’s unexpected victory over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
"I believed in the Kazan team even before the match,” Yury Zhirkov told bobsoccer.ru. “I told one of my partners at Chelsea that Rubin wouldn’t lose at Camp Nou. His reply was: ‘This is impossible. You bet ₤500 and I’ll answer with a million’.”
“In the end we made a different agreement: If Barca won, I pay my teammate, who asked me not to mention his name, ₤500. If Rubin gets at least a draw he pays me ₤1000,” he said.
Rubin Kazan shocked the football Europe by beating defending Champions League winners Barcelona in Catalonia. The Russians produced an amazing defensive game and showed an amazing record in front, scoring two goals from three shots, to take the 2-1 win.
“So I won the bet, leaving my Chelsea partners surprised. But the main thing now is that many in England now know and respect [Russian champions] Rubin, who managed to beat the mighty Barcelona at their home stadium,” the 26-year-old said.
Zhirkov joined Chelsea from CSKA Moscow during the summer break. The Londoners paid £18 million pounds for the winger, who became the most expensive Russian footballer of all time.
But Zhirkov got a knee injury during the pre-season, and has so far made just one appearance for the club since recovering.