Shakhtar Donetsk president Rinat Akhmetov has stated he is hopeful Chelsea will play Shakhtar Donetsk in a friendly at Donbass Arena in a Ukrainian Donetsk, following the conflict in Ukraine. Akhmetov released a statement following the transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea on Sunday.
The new Blues star appeared destined for Arsenal for much of the past few months. But in some fast moving events over the weekend, Chelsea agreed a deal with Shakhtar and convinced the young winger to head to Stamford Bridge as he completed his medical and arrived at the stadium for the clash versus Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Mudryk's transfer was confirmed during the match with the Eagles with the Blues putting paying £62million fee that could rise to £88million to bring the 22-year-old to west London. Shakhtar president Akhmetov further announced that £20.5million would be allocated to help Ukraine's soldiers, defenders, and their families through a project named Heart of Azovstal.
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His statement read: "Dear friends and fans, FC Shakhtar has signed a final agreement with Chelsea FC and thus Ukrainian footballer Mykhaylo Mudryk will continue his career with the Blues in the strongest national championship, the English Premier League.
"First and foremost, I want to thank the entire civilised world for helping Ukraine. 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. Only by joining efforts we will defeat the evil that has come to our homes.
"I have mixed feelings today. On the one hand, I am happy for Mykhaylo and proud of him. This guy is leading by example, showing that talent and hard work can make the impossible possible. I am absolutely confident that the entire Europe will acclaim Mykhaylo's brilliant and fine play.
"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.
"We have to do everything we can to bring this day closer.
"That is why I have made a decision to launch the Heart of Azovstal, a project designed to help Mariupol defenders and the families of fallen soldiers. Their acts of bravery are unparalleled in the modern history. It is them, their sacrifice and courage that helped contain the enemy in the first months of the war and let all of us feel the inevitability of the Victory of Ukraine now.
"I am allocating $25 million (£20.5million) 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. 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!"
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