Shakhtar Donetsk is donating $25 million to a charity for Ukrainian families along with the transfer of player Mykhailo Mudryk to English team Chelsea.
Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk is one of Ukraine’s two major football clubs. It’s had to move several times due to war, and currently cannot play due to the Russian invasion. Mudryk played for them from 2016 to 2022, and just recently has been transferred to Chelsea in a transfer worth over $70 million and a deal of $100 million, the highest ever for a Ukrainian player.
Rinat Akhmetov, the president of Shakhtar Donetsk, announced that the $25 million donation would come out of the transfer fee paid by Chelsea and would be donated to the “Heart of Azovstal,” a charitable project.
“I am allocating $25m today to help our soldiers, defenders, and their families,” the statement by Akhmetov read.
“The money will be used to cover different needs — from providing medical and prosthetic treatment and psychological support to meeting specific requests.
“To ensure transparency, the project will have a professional independent team that will be in touch with the Azovstal defenders, their families, care providers, and volunteers.
“We are forever indebted to our soldiers!”
About Mudryk’s leaving, his feelings were more mixed.
“On the one hand, I am happy for Mykhailo and proud of him. This guy is leading by example, showing that talent and hard work can make the impossible possible,” his statement continued.
“On the other hand, I have never made it a secret that my dream is to win European trophies. This means that players like Mudryk should be invited to our club, to our Ukrainian championship, and we should win European trophies with such players, rather than root for them, even when they play in the world’s top clubs.
“Unfortunately, it is impossible now, as Ukraine is fighting the horrendous and unjust war waged against us by the Russian Federation. But I am confident that we will win. And we will play a friendly against Chelsea at Donbass Arena in a Ukrainian Donetsk.”
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