Pires fan, Ukrainian “Neymar” … Five things to discover about Mykhaylo Mudryk, the 100M€ nugget

Preference for Arsenal but…

Before Chelsea won the bet with an impossible bid for Shakhtar Donetsk (70 million euros, plus 30 million in guaranteed bonuses barring a disaster), Mykhaylo Mudryk had long believed he would play in London, but further north in the English capital, near the Emirates Stadium. . A choice of heart for the 22 year old, who has never hidden his admiration for the Gunners and one… Robert Pirès. Also, a cute detail, he made his Ukrainian Premier League debut at… Arsenal Kyiv, where he was loaned out for one season in 2018-2019. But it’s also about the choice of reasons, as he explained to CBS Sports last November: “Arsenal are a very dynamic team, not only in the way they control possession, but also in the way they attack and score goals. And from a purely theoretical point of view, between being a substitute at Real Madrid or starting at Arsenal, my choice would probably be Arsenal.Yes but now, the Blues, struggling in the league, have decided to break the bank by outbidding the Gunners’ 70 million bid, leading their coach, Mikel Arteta, to say:I am very proud to have my current group. Obviously I want to always be able to improve but we have to be financially disciplined“.

25 million euros will go towards the Ukrainian war effort

Shakhtar Donetsk President Rinat Akhmetov finally won. While at first his desire to see Mykhaylo Mudryk leave for 100 million euros seemed more like the effect of an announcement to hope to raise the stakes than a realistic amount, he knows how to play on London’s competition to raise the auction. A breath of fresh air financially for his club, but not only. Indeed, Akhmetov claims that a portion of this record amount will be donated to the Ukrainian war effort. Thus, 25 million euros made it possible to provide the Ukrainian army with medical equipment, as well as psychological support, financial assistance to soldiers involved in the defense of Mariupol and their families, compensation also to the families of soldiers who died in battle. “Their act of bravery is unparalleled in modern history“Akhmetov said, while saying that the friendly match between Shakhtar and Chelsea will take place at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk on a date yet to be determined.

“Neymar Ukraine”

“Mudryk is a fantastic player, I think he can win the Ballon d’Or one day.Obviously, in saying this, Roberto De Zerbi is not being very objective as it was he who launched the Ukrainian nugget to the deep end and let him go forward at top speed. To the extent that it was given the nickname “Neymar Ukrainebecause of a style of play close to that of the Brazilian. A left-handed but right-handed winger, Mykhaylo Mudryk is very strong with both feet, with great dribbling qualities, which has made many happy videos “best” on the web. However, with another Brazilian Darijo Srna, the sporting director of Shakhtar and the former Croatia international compared them:Mudryk is our Vinicius Junior. There are few players of that quality, and he has developed a lot in the last few months.” Which resulted in notably three goals and two assists in the final group stage of the Champions League, allowing him to be decisive every 75 minutes against opponents like Real Madrid or Leipzig.

Monaco has a bad memory, Nice give it a try

Mykhaylo Mudryk played his first Champions League match on 25 August 2021 against… Monaco in the play-offs. At that point, he came on in the 82nd minute and quickly became decisive in extra time, as he was responsible for an own goal scored by Monegasque defender Aguilar in the second half. The 114th minute, synonymous with the elimination of the Principality club. And a year later, during the summer transfer window, another Riviera club took an interest in him: OGC Nice. The leaders of Aiglons had voiced their counterparts from Shakhtar but very quickly, they had abandoned this idea as the competition was already very strong (Everton had offered 30 million euros for the Ukraine international to 8 options).

Almost as fast as Mbappé

If Mykhaylo Mudryk is distinguished primarily by his technical qualities, this should not overshadow his incredible burst of speed. At the end of the group stage of this season’s Champions League, UEFA announced the ranking of players who achieved the fastest burst of speed, and Shakhtar’s man was the lucky winner by sprinting against Celtic Glasgow at 36.6 km/h. Or very close to 38km / h from Kylian Mbappé, for which he has nothing to envy in terms of pure speed. On the other hand, he still lacks the realism of the Paris SG striker as Mudryk has, so far, scored very few goals in his career: 10 goals overall and for all in the Ukrainian league (including 7 during the season) and still none. in election.

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