Lokomotiv Moscow’s Brazilian goalkeeper Marinato Guilherme has received Russian citizenship, the club reported Monday.

The 29-year-old Guilherme, who has been with the railway-backed side

since 2007, said that his decision to ask for Russian nationalaity had

been a deliberate choice.

“I live here together with my family and we feel ourselves at home

here,” the club press service quoted Guilherme as saying on their

official site.

“I’m happy to become a part of this great country.”

Guilherme’s new status will give Lokomotiv manager Igor Cherevchenko

more freedom in selecting his line-up for Premier League matches as he

will no longer be considered as a foreign player.

The league’s existing regulations limit the number of foreign

footballers on the pitch to six players maximum in Premiership

encounters.

Guilherme added that he would be keen to play for the Russian national team if selected.

Earlier this year Igor Ananskikh, the chairman of sports committee of

the lower house of Russian parliament proposed an amendment to the

state citizenship law, making it easier for foreign athletes to acquire

Russian citizenship.

Ananskikh said that the success of naturalized foreign athletes such

as Korean short-track skater Viktor Ahn (also known as Ahn Hyun-soo) and

US snowboarder Vic Wild, who between them won five gold medals at 2014

Olympic Games in Sochi, was fundamental to his proposal.