The Blue-White-Sky Blues’ captain on his new contract, the return to number ten and the St. Petersburg side’s new players. 

— Yesterday you played in number 10. Does that mean that you are going to play in it this coming season? 
— Yeah, that’s my number that I am used to playing in all the time. This last season was supposed to be my last for «Zenit», so I was playing with number 35. But then I signed another contract and I am going to be here for another two years. I like the number ten and so I took it for myself. 

— You made an announcement that you were leaving «Zenit» but you changed your mind later. Why?
— Other clubs had invited me and I had the opportunity to stay. I was training with the national team when I received another call from «Zenit». We talked about everything and I discussed this with my family. They really like St. Petersburg. We’ve been living in Russia for 10 years already and my sons have a lot of friends here, they are playing in «Zenit’s» Academy. All of this became a reason why I wanted to stay. This is my club and I want to continue to win as part of «Zenit», to win the Supercup that is coming up. I want to relax in these next two seasons and win everything. 

— Who was worrying about you the most during this situation? 
— My wife and kids, Criscito — he’s my closest friend and is practically a member of my family. I’m staying here with my family. We like the club and so we are staying. 

— Can you name the clubs that were offering you a new contract? 
— That doesn’t matter now. I am staying and that’s really important. 

— Can you at least name the regions? 
— I had offers to go to Europe and Asia. 

— Who came to the table with the offer? 
— Everyone — both me and the club. 

— Were your kids really happy? They speak incredibly good Russian. Can we expect to see them on the Russian national team? 
— I don’t know, maybe. They are going to be playing for the Academy, living in St. Petesrburg and hanging out with friends. 

— What do you think about the new players — Dzyuba and Yusupov? 
— They did some really great work for the former clubs. They are really trying hard in practice. Dzyuba is a good forward and goal scorer. Yusupov is a machine and is working hard on the pitch, he has some excellent technique. We are happy that he came to us. 

— You’ve spoken about how you are not excluding finishing your career with «Zenit». Have you thought about what you will do after your contact finishes?
— I am feeling pretty good right now, I want to relax while I’m still playing. Of course I am going to be feeling worn out after these two seasons and so it would be better to stop. But if I am ready to still play then I am going to continue. 

— There are some rumours around new transfers, including one to your position. 
— This is «Zenit’s» decision. The team needs strong players. I want to play, I want to work. If the coach decides to put another player in my position then I am going to continue to work hard during practice and show that I deserve a spot in the starting lineup. 

— «Zenit» is going to play the new season without two of its legends — Arshavin and Kerzhakov.
— Arshavin and Kerzhakov are two of the club's legends. Andrey’s contract is finishing and it hasn’t been extended and Alexander has a different history — these are the club’s prerogative’s, not mine. All that I can do is to thank them for the incredible years that we had together, for their huge contribution to the team’s successes. I wish them luck.