At least 125 footballers have left the first two leagues of Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the war, almost a month and a half ago. Most of them have done it to sign for clubs in other countries, but there are some who have simply terminated their contracts and are currently free agents.
At the time of writing these lines, and according to the Transfermarkt portal, a reference database in world football, 62 footballers have temporarily or permanently ceased to belong to clubs of the first division of Ukraine and other 31 to the second. Both, as is logical, are suspended due to the invasion of Vladimir Putin.
In the case of Russiawhose local league continues to be played with apparent normality, 30 players have availed themselves of their right to suspend their contracts in the first category and three They have done it in the second. However, given the abnormality of the situation and the difficulties of many Ukrainian clubs in maintaining some administrative activity, it is possible that the total figure is much older.
FIFA Exception
Players from both leagues have been able to terminate or suspend their contracts and sign for another club immediately due to an exceptional measure issued by FIFA in the past 7 of March. Under normal conditions they would not have been able to do so, as most world markets are closed at this time of year.
After expelling the Russian national team and clubs from the international competitionsincluding the play-offs for the World Cup and the Europa League, FIFA decided to grant Russian club players the possibility of unilaterally terminating their contracts until the end of the season.
FIFA argued in its statement that it made this decision to “give players and coaches the opportunity to work and earn a salary“, as well as to “protect Ukrainian clubs” which obviously lack income in a war situation. The measure was initially put in place only for players and employees foreign and was later extended to the nationals.
The only limit imposed by the body that presides over the Gianni Infantino is that each team could not register more than two footballers from Russia or Ukraine. The Flamengo and the International Brazilians and the Eyupspor Turkish have already filled the quota.
vinicius
The most prominent name of all of them, at least for the Spanish fan, is that of Vinicius Tobias. The 18-year-old winger came from the Shakhtar Donetsk in the month of January from the Internacional de Porto Alegre in his country. However, the winter break of the championship and the start of the war did not even allow him to debut in orange.
Real Madrid was on the verge of agreeing with the Ukrainian club, which has been playing in exile in Lviv since Donbas War in 2014, the transfer of the boy for the remainder of this season and the next, guaranteeing a purchase option. For the moment, he will play in the Castile at the orders of Raul Gonzalez Blanco. He is the only footballer who has arrived in Spain in this extraordinary market so far.
Rakitskiy
Another of the proper names of this extraordinary market due to the armed conflict is that of Yaroslav Rakitskiy. Shakhtar legend, with whom he played more than 300 games in ten seasons, his march to Zenit of St. Petersburg in 2019 caused a wave of criticism in his country. The pressure was total that since then he has not played with the Ukrainian team again, despite having enough level for it.
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Following the invasion of Ukraine, the 32-year-old central defender asked Zenit to terminate his contract, a request that was accepted by the Russian club on 2 March. Like him, the Ukrainian goalkeeper Yaroslav Godzyur also left the Russian league at the beginning of March, in his case the Ural, and remains without equipment. Another compatriot, the midfielder Artem Polyarus he left the Akhmat Groznyalthough in his case to sign for another club: the Polish Termalica.
The best-known footballer who has recently changed clubs is Grzegorz KrychowiakPolish midfielder ex Sevilla and PSG who has abandoned the Krasnodar Russian to finish the season on loan at AEK de Atenas. The only Spanish on the list is Marc Gualwho has signed for the Polish Jagiellonia after having to flee Ukraine, where he played for Dnipro.