SHAKHTAR Donetsk president Rinat Akhmetov has pledged to donate £22m to the Ukrainian war effort following the transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea.
The Premier League side signed Mudryk from Shakhtar on Sunday in a deal worth up to £89m, a transfer record for Ukrainian football.
Akhmetov said the money would help a project named ‘Heart of Azovstal,’ aimed at “helping Mariupol defenders and the families of fallen soldiers”.
Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022.
“I want to thank the entire civilised world for helping Ukraine,” said Akhmetov.
“Today we are able to talk about Ukrainian football thanks to the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian people, and the tremendous support of the entire civilised world.”
Akhmetov said he had “mixed feelings” about Mudryk, 22, leaving Shakhtar for Chelsea.
“I have never made it a secret that my dream is to win European trophies,” he said.
“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.
“Unfortunately, it is impossible now, as Ukraine is fighting the horrendous and unjust war waged against us by the Russian Federation.”
The Shakhtar president said money from Mudryk’s transfer fee would go towards providing medical and prosthetic treatment, psychological support and meeting specific requests in order to help Mariupol defenders and the families of fallen soldiers.
“Their acts of bravery are unparalleled in the modern history,” Akhmetov said.
He also said Shakhtar would play a friendly against Chelsea at Donbass Arena in Ukraine.