Oleksandr Zinchenko shares his heartwarming gift to a Ukrainian refugee

Oleksandr Zinchenko has shared a heartwarming Instagram post regarding a Ukrainian refugee that he invited to train at the Manchester City Football Academy last week.

The 25-year-old has been so reliable for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City since his move from FC Ufa in 2016. He has constantly been linked with moves away from the club, but on each occasion, Zinchenko has decided to stay and fight for his place among a star-studded squad.

Naturally a central midfielder, Zinchenko mainly operates as a left-back for City and has shown incredible versatility in his new role. His leadership skills are a trait that has also often been highlighted, particularly by the Ukrainian national team, who made him the permanent captain during Euro 2020.

READ MORE: Ukraine legend Shevchenko praises Zinchenko amid Russian war situation

Recently, Zinchenko has had to show immense mental strength to continue playing football, as Russia’s invasion of his home country continues to shock the world day by day. He has been very vocal with his support on social media, and last week he shared a heartwarming image and message regarding a very special gift he gave a 10-year-old Ukrainian refugee.

“This is Andriy. He is 10 years old,” Zinchenko said, “Today he is already safe. Like most Ukrainians, he and his family were forced to flee their homes because of the war.

“Another 75 days ago, this boy dreamed of becoming a footballer and trained carefree with his team. Today he dreams of only one thing — peace in our country. About peace. About normal life at home.

“It hurts me a lot that because of the war in Russia, there are a lot of children like Andriy in Ukraine today. Deprived of childhood, and even worse – life. I believe that the day of our Ukrainian victory will come soon. And all children will be able to relive their carefree childhood, full of children’s dreams and positive emotions, which today for a few minutes could feel Andrew at the training session.’

At the beginning of the conflict, Zinchenko — alongside his Ukraine teammate, Vitaliy Mykolenko — were given a huge standing ovation at Goodison Park before City and Everton’s Premier League clash. A few days later, club captain Fernandinho passed on the armband to Zinchenko in the Blues’ victory against Peterborough in the FA Cup in a show of solidarity. Zinchenko has recently come back into the City starting line-up to help them cope with injuries to Kyle Walker, John Stones and other defensive absentees.