"I have earned a place in the elite": Russian world champion calls his appointment as Putin's confidant the main achievement of his career

Former Russian hockey player Danis Zaripov has made an epic bow to dictator Vladimir Putin. The three-time world champion called the fact that he became the Kremlin leader's confidant in the so-called presidential election in Russia the greatest achievement of his career.

Zaripov said this in an interview with the propaganda channel Match TV. The five-time Gagarin Cup winner admired the fact that he had become Putin's confidant, thanks to which he "deserved this place in our elite." The former striker also praised the dictator's level of hockey, forgetting that matches with his participation are a real circus.

"I'm very pleased that our first person saw me in the direction of sports, hockey, so I didn't spend my career in vain. I have earned this place in our elite. It is a great honor for me. I will try to do my best. What are your impressions of Putin's game of hockey? At the amateur level, it's quite decent. We understand that he has almost no time. He started from scratch. A talented person is talented in everything!" said Zaripov.

Earlier it became known that Valery Gazzayev, a former coach of Dynamo Kyiv, became Putin's proxy in the March 2024 presidential "elections". The list includes 17 other athletes.

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