Zinchenko: 'English life is not for me'

Zinchenko was interviewed by Russian newspaper 'Championat', and launched a scathing review of his experience living in Manchester. 

He said: ''Here is the best football in the world, better than anywhere else. But English life...to put it mildly, it's not for me. The weather crushes me. Plus, in Russia or Ukraine, there are more fun things to do. English life is not for me.''

It seems the 21-year-old is also not a fan of the English diet. He noted: ''There is not enough homemade food. Once I asked to have a borscht [an Eastern European soup] cooked for me and, of course, it didn't taste the same.''

''The people here are meaner than in the Netherlands [where he was on loan at PSV Eindhoven]. But I understand: the sky is grey every day and it rains constantly.''

As for the classic dry British wit, it must have gone over the midfielder's head. He said: ''And their sense of humour is different. They sometimes laugh at things that we wouldn't even smile at.'' 

Regarding his social life, the Ukraine international wasn't particularly complimentary of his team-mates either: ''I have friends in Manchester, who I meet and chat with, although most of the time I'm by myself. Also I am with my team-mates eight hours per day, so I like to take breaks from them!''

Sometimes even winning the Premier League with five games to spare is not quite enough to please some people.