Oleksandr Zinchenko

Early career

Zinchenko was born in Radomyshl, Zhytomyr Oblast. He is a product of Youth Sporitve School Karpatiya of his native Radomyshl (with first coach Serhiy Boretskyi), FC Monolit Illichivsk and Shakhtar Donetsk, where he became the captain of the youth team. On 9 December 2013, he scored a goal in a 1–1 draw with Manchester United in the 2013–14 UEFA Youth League. He moved with his parents to Russia due to the war in Donbas. Shakhtar Donetsk wanted him back despite offering no playing time, but he did not return for security reasons. He spent between five and six months in the amateur leagues in Moscow. He then trained with Rubin Kazan but the club did not sign him to a contract since Zinchenko was still under contract to Shakhtar, and Rubin would risk incurring a transfer ban if they attempted to sign him. On 12 February 2015, he signed a contract with Ufa. He made his Russian Premier League debut for Ufa on 20 March 2015 in a match against FC Krasnodar. On 25 July 2015, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 defeat against FC Rostov.

Manchester City

2016–2019

On 4 July 2016, Zinchenko signed for Premier League club Manchester City for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £1.7 million. He was described by a Russian football scout as a "real talent", with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund also monitoring him. Zinchenko was loaned to Eredivisie club PSV on 26 August, for the 2016–17 season. He made his debut on 1 October, as a substitute…

On 12 October 2015, Zinchenko debuted for Ukraine in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Spain. He scored his first international goal in a friendly match against neighbours Romania in Turin, which Ukraine won 4–3 on 29 May 2016. Zinchenko also became Ukraine's youngest player to score an international goal at the age of 19 years and 165 days, beating a record held since 1996 by Andriy Shevchenko. Zinchenko was included in Ukraine's squad for Euro 2016, appearing as a substitute for Viktor Kovalenko in both of Ukraine's first two matches, against Germany and Northern Ireland as Ukraine failed to score and were the first team eliminated. On 24 March 2021, in a match against France, Zinchenko became Ukraine's youngest player captain in their history at the age 24 years and 98 days. Later on, he was included in the squad for UEFA Euro 2020. On 29 June 2021, he scored the first goal and assisted the second goal in the Euro 2020 round of 16 match against Sweden, which ended in a 2–1 win for Ukraine after extra time, for which he was awarded the Star of the Match. In May 2024, Zinchenko was called up to represent Ukraine at UEFA Euro 2024.

Club

As of match played 14 February 2026

International

As of match played 9 September 2025

As of match played 10 June 2025 Scores and results list Ukraine's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zinchenko goal.

In August 2020, Zinchenko married journalist Vlada Sedan. Their first child, a daughter, was born in August 2021. In August 2023, the couple welcomed their second daughter. Zinchenko identifies as an Eastern Orthodox Christian. He is a vocal opponent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, he wrote on his Instagram that he wished for Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, to die the most painful of deaths. The post was later deleted, with Zinchenko claiming Instagram had deleted it rather than him. In October 2023, he expressed solidarity with Israel following the October 7 attacks. In an interview with the BBC in April 2024, Zinchenko expressed his willingness to fight in his home country should he be called up, and said that he had donated about £1 million to help people affected by the war in Ukraine. In 2023, Zinchenko founded Passion UA, an esports organisation currently competing in Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 and formerly in Apex Legends. Zinchenko would stand-in for his Counter-Strike team in a YaLLa Compass Spring 2024 Contenders match against Bleed Esports on 8 February 2024, ultimately losing the match 2–1. On 24 November 2024 Passion UA upset Astralis to qualify to the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. On 19 August 2025 Passion UA would purchase the core of Complexity Gaming's Counter-Strike 2 division following their exit from the scene, becoming a North American based team.