Artyom Dzyuba, football player. Biography

In March 2025, Artyom Dzyuba, the forward of the Tolyatti club Akron, set two bright records at once. In early spring, he became the top scorer in the history of Russian football, scoring the 234th goal of his career. Then, during the friendly match Russia – Grenada, the athlete conquered another peak, receiving the title of the best scorer in the history of the Russian national team. In total, he scored 31 goals in the national team. Read about the career and personal life of a football player in the Izvestia article.

Artyom Dzyuba — childhood, the beginning of his career

The Russian football player was born on August 22, 1988 in Moscow. Initially, the parents planned to send their son to hockey, but in the end, football took over. Since the age of eight, Dzyuba has been studying at the Spartak Moscow Football Academy. According to the athlete, the choice fell on the capital club because the team was shining at that time, and it was not far to get to the stadium in Sokolniki.

In 2005, the player was transferred to the adult team. A year later, he played in the Russian Cup match against Ural. The influence of the famous striker and coach Vladimir Fedotov had an effect — it was he who entrusted the graduate of the academy with a place in the main team. In total, Dzyuba played eight matches in his first season with the club. And in 2007, he scored his debut goal in a match of the Russian Premier League (RPL).

After Fedotov's death in 2009, Dzyuba began to appear less frequently on the field and increasingly found himself in the reserves. And soon he joined the Siberian club Tom. This happened after an unpleasant incident when an athlete was accused of stealing money from a teammate. He himself insisted on not being involved in the incident. After playing several seasons for Tomsk, Dzyuba returned to Spartak and helped the team make it to the Champions League.

Football player Artyom Dzyuba — club career, records

Zenit drew attention to the talented striker. In 2015, Dzyuba signed a contract with the St. Petersburg club. This period was the most successful in his career. It was in the blue-white-blue team that the footballer played the most matches, and also became the champion of Russia for the first time.

Then in his career there were Tula Arsenal and the Turkish club Adana Demirspor, where Dzyuba scored the first goal in his debut match. The contract with the Turks was signed in August 2022 and terminated in November. The reason for the departure was the salary delay. According to media reports, the athlete's salary in the Turkish club was € 1.5 million per year.

Since February 2023, Artyom Dzyuba has been playing for Lokomotiv Moscow. In a season and a half, he took part in 39 matches, scoring 12 goals and making nine assists.

In May 2024, the team's press service announced the departure of the striker. The player's agent Leonid Goldman said that he was not going to end his career after leaving Lokomotiv. In September, Dzyuba signed a contract with Akron Togliatti.

The year 2025 was one of the most successful in a football player's career. In early March, during a Russian Premier League (RPL) match with Samara Krylia Sovetov, Dzyuba scored his 234th goal, becoming the top scorer in the history of Russian football. Prior to that, Alexander Kerzhakov had held this title for 12 years, with 233 goals to his credit.

Just a few days later, on March 19, Dzyuba played for the Russian national team in a friendly match against Grenada. The game ended with a score of 5:0 in favor of the Russian team and brought the player another honorary title. In the 43rd minute, he scored his 31st goal for the Russian national team, becoming the top scorer in the history of the national team. The previous record also belonged to Alexander Kerzhakov, who scored 30 goals in 90 games. Dzyuba needed only 56 matches.

At the same time, commenting on his achievement, the football player admitted to Izvestia that he did not consider himself the best.

"I don't consider myself the best, but in any case, I've got as much time as I can eat. I want to consolidate my result as much as possible. And in the future, just watch and enjoy. And if someone ever beats me, I will be only glad," he shared.

At the moment, Dzyuba is a three—time Cup winner and four-time Russian Super Cup winner. He also participated in the European and World Championships. He holds the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia. In 2009, he was recognized as the man of the year by GQ magazine.

Artyom Dzyuba — personal life

Artyom Dzyuba has been married since 2012. Together with his wife Kristina, he has three sons. They met at a New Year's Eve party in Moscow, where the football player came with his friend, goalkeeper Ivan Komissarov, also a graduate of the Spartak Academy. The athlete immediately drew attention to an attractive girl and invited her to date.

A few years later, Dzyuba was suspected of having an affair with Match TV presenter Maria Orzul. They were seen kissing in the journalist's car, the video got online. The scandal broke out right before the Euro 2016 qualifying match. Despite the incident, the couple managed to keep the family together. Then Dzyuba said that he was "very ashamed in front of his wife, but he didn't give a damn about anything else."

A new scandal occurred in November 2020. This time, the publication of Dzyuba's intimate video caused a great response. After the incident, he temporarily suspended participation in the matches of the Russian national team.