Viktor Leonenko: "I can do everything in football"

Former Dynamo Kyiv forward Viktor Leonenko gave another interview that is hard to pass up.

- Viktor Yevhenovych, Oleksandr Aliyev plays in your veterans' team, did you try to call Artem Milevskyi, his 'kent'?

- I offered Artem to play for us back when he was friends with Aliyev, but he refused. Perhaps he was ashamed or scared. Now he plays somewhere in the media league. I've seen him swear, but I'll support him here, because a lot of people swear.

- Aliyev and Milevsky have now quarreled. Whose side are you on?

- Of course, on the side of my friend Aliyev. I don't understand why Artem was offended by him. Even the pigeons knew that Milevsky had been drinking. Moreover, Khatskevich had earlier said that he had seen Artem at Selezniov's farewell match, and he looked like a creature.

In addition, Milevsky himself has repeatedly published photos and videos showing his condition. What claims can you make against Aliyev?

- Are you ready to reconcile the 'kents'?

- What am I, a matchmaker? If they do not want to reconcile, I cannot help them. They have to come to this themselves.

- Who should take the first step? Aliyev or Milevsky?

- Of course, Milevsky should make the first step, it's definitely not Aliyev's fault. Artem should simply apologise, but it all depends on how stubborn my friend [Aliyev] is - whether he will forgive or not.

- Let's compare you with Milevsky. You scored against Spartak and he scored against Spartak. I wonder what you think.

- I scored against Spartak and the whole country drank afterwards, while Milevsky scored against Spartak and no one paid attention to it. Because foreigners played there, it was not the same Spartak. That's the difference. When I scored against Spartak, even teetotalers and those who didn't support Dynamo started drinking. I made a holiday for the country.

It's like comparing when Lobanovsky's Dynamo beat Barcelona and now, when only the lazy don't beat Barcelona. As well as Bayern, however. "Bayern is in the semi-finals of the Champions League, but look who is beating them in the Bundesliga.

- Okay, I'll ask you straight out who is better: Leonenko or Milevsky?

- I'm not even going to be modest here. I can do everything in football. I was lucky enough to have a very quick burst, plus a kick with both feet, I could see the field perfectly, and I played very well with my head. Milevsky clung to the ball and saw the field well, but he fell a lot. Now compare: who is the better player?

- I want to hear your answer.

- Let people decide, but I think Artem is not even close to me. Milevsky loves Ferraris, so I'll give you this comparison. I am a Ferrari, and Artem is a Daewoo Lanos. I am a Martian, and he is a metro worker. Even compared to Salenko, and I'm not talking about Blokhin.

- And if we compare you and Blokhin?

- Blokhin is number 1. Oleg Vladimirovich is Gagarin in football.

- I want to finish our conversation with Artem Dovbyk. You have often criticised him, but now he is leading the La Liga scoring race, having scored against Barcelona. Can you finally praise him?

- I congratulate him, but I want him to think that it will be even harder. Sometimes people say "top", but it may turn out that they are not. For me, a top player is someone who scores out of nothing in every game and carries the team for several seasons in a row. When Dovbyk can do that for a serious club, not Girona, then we'll talk. I'm honestly very happy for Dovbyk, but it will be even more difficult for him.

Artem is a national team player. Let's see what he will show at Euro 2024. If he is a top player, he will carry our team. Then I will tell him myself that he is a top player and is very expensive.

- Dovbyk needs to score four goals to repeat Shevchenko's record for a season. What do you think, can Dovbyk become the second Shevchenko?

- We need to give the master a break, because Dovbyk hasn't played in a big club yet. And Sheva was pulled by the great Milan, and he had very serious partners and a lot of happiness. I mean, he scored a lot of lucky goals, like the one to Filimonov and the one to Juventus from the back nine.

- Atletico are interested in Dovbyk. Is it a top club for you?

- There are only two top clubs now - Real Madrid and Manchester City. If Dovbyk is top, then Atletico must win something to invite him. If Atletico doesn't win anything, then let Artem stay at Girona. What's the point in moving then?

Is that why Foden is top? Because he decides the outcome of matches, creating goals out of nothing. If Dovbyk is top, then he should play at Real Madrid or Manchester City, because hockey players don't get there. It's as simple as that.

Andrii Piskun