Shakhtar owner donates £20m of Mykhailo Mudryk fee to Ukraine war effort

Shakhtar Donetsk owner and president Rinat Akhmetov has donated a substantial chunk of Mykhailo Mudryk’s transfer fee to providing supplies for Ukraine’s war effort.

22-year-old Mudryk joined Chelsea in a deal worth £87m on Sunday, after the Blues hijacked a move to Premier League rivals, and leaders, Arsenal.

Mudryk was introduced to Chelsea’s supporters during the half-time interval of the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, having become one of the most expensive players of all time.

Shakhtar had held out for a number of weeks over their valuation of Mudryk despite Arsenal’s best efforts to lower his price, and were eventually rewarded when Todd Boehly opened his war chest of Chelsea money to agree a deal that could be worth £87m if all add-ons and bonus payments are triggered.

The deal represents a huge windfall for Shakhtar, but Akhmetov confirmed in a statement that £20m of the fee will go towards providing Ukraine’s soldiers with medical supplies and treatment for the ongoing conflict with Russia.

“I am allocating $25m (UAH 1 billion, £20m) today to help our soldiers, defenders, and their families. The money will be used to cover different needs – from providing medical and prosthetic treatment and psychological support to meeting specific requests,” he said.

“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.”

As for Mudryk, he departs Shakhtar having played just 29 league games for the club during his career. He has, however, been tipped to become one of world football’s best players, and shone in the group stages of this season’s Champions League.

Mudryk also scored seven goals and contributed six assists in just 914 minutes of Ukrainian Premier League during 2022/23.