Ivanovic heads to Russia as ‘wonderful’ Chelsea stint ends

Oli Fisher
Branislav Ivanovic: To Russia with love

Branislav Ivanovic: To Russia with love

Branislav Ivanovic’s has joined Zenit St. Petersburg on a three-and-a-half year deal, putting an end to his long stay with Chelsea.

The 32-year-old defender, who made 376 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea since he moved to Stamford Bridge in 2008, had also been linked to Everton before the transfer deadline.

A statement published on Zenit’s official website said the two clubs had agreed the switch, for an undisclosed fee, of a player whose contract was due to expire at the end of the season.

Ivanovic won the Premier League title twice, the FA Cup three times, the Champions League – although he missed the 2012 final due to suspension – and the Europa League with the Blues.

He featured in 13 league outings for Chelsea this term, scoring his last goal for Antonio Conte’s table-toppers in Saturday’s 4-0 FA Cup defeat of Brentford.

Zenit, who are managed by Mircea Lucescu, are 17 games into their Russian Premier League campaign and sit five points behind Spartak Moscow.