Mykhailo Mudryk joined Chelsea for 100 million euros. Part of the transfer fee for the Ukrainian will benefit his homeland’s armed forces
Source: dpa/David Cliff
Chelsea have bought Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for €100m. Rinat Akhmetov, the Ukrainian club’s billionaire owner, uses the record transfer for an unusual gesture.
Nfter the million-dollar transfer of midfielder Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea, the owner of Shakhtar Donetsk, Rinat Akhmetov, created a fund for Mariupol city defenders. “Today I am providing one billion hryvnia (about 23.5 million euros) to help our fighters and defenders, as well as their families,” Akhmetov said on Monday on the Ukrainian football club’s website. The money should be used for medical treatment, psychological care, prostheses and other things.
The southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov was captured by Russian troops in spring 2022, just a few months after the start of the war, and large parts were destroyed in the process. Akhmetov’s corporate empire was based largely on the Mariupol steelworks, where the last Ukrainian soldiers held out for weeks at the time. “We are forever indebted to our defenders!” said the 56-year-old. His new fund should be called “Heart of Azovstal”.
The British newspaper “Financial Times” reported last year that Akhmetov, his charitable foundation, FC Shakhtar and his investment company System Capital Management have already provided around 100 million euros in support of the Ukrainian armed forces and for humanitarian aid since Russia’s attack on Ukraine have provided to the population.
The transfer of 22-year-old Mudryks from Shakhtar to Chelsea became known on Sunday. In total, the Ukrainian club should receive 100 million euros for the change. Until May 2022, Chelsea was still owned by Roman Abramovich. The Russian oligarch, who is said to have close ties to the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin, was forced to sell the club after Russia invaded the neighboring country.
