Nikita Krivtsov

The 3–0 win over Dynamo Moscow that settled the 2024/25 Russian Premier League title carried Krivtsov's name on the scoresheet.

He came up through Salut Dzerzhinsk, spending a decade there from 2010 to 2020, with trials at Chertanovo and Spartak Moscow along the way that led nowhere. Murom signed him in 2020 but he never played an official match for them before moving on to Torpedo Vladimir that July, where he made his professional debut. The loan to Tom Tomsk in February 2021 was the spell that changed things: 15 matches, four goals, and the club's Best Player award for the 2020/21 season.

Krasnodar paid 55 million roubles for him in August 2021, a fee pushed up by demands from regional authorities. He finished second in the voting for the league's best young player in 2022/23. In February 2024 he signed a contract extension with a €30 million release clause.

The senior Russia call came in November 2023, and he scored on his debut against Cuba. A second international goal followed against Brunei a year later; by June 2026 he had five caps. He had also played twice for the under-21s in 2021.

Krasnodar were runners-up in 2023/24 and again in 2025/26, and reached the Russian Cup final in 2022/23 and 2025/26. Krivtsov was voted the third best player in the Premier League for 2025/26.