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Manchester United have announced their first summer signing and it is the Brazilian international Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Fred is one of many Brazilians to have made their mark with the Ukrainian club. In fact, former Manchester City player, Elano, also moved to the Premier League from Shakhtar.
Although the club is renowned for its history with Brazilian players, some non-Brazilian players have also established themselves with the former Europa League champions. Croatia’s most capped player and former captain, Darijo Srna, spent 15 years of his professional career with Shakhtar Donetsk winning 25 trophies including 10 league titles!
Even Ukraine’s most capped player and former Bayern Munich player, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, spent nine seasons with Shakhtar.
A move away from Shakhtar doesn’t work out for everyone as was the case with Dmytro Chygrynskiy who moved to Barcelona and never recovered his best form. So it remains to be seen how Fred will cope in the Premier League.
However, we are here to discuss the success stories, so take a look at five active players who played for Shakhtar Donetsk and also found success elsewhere.
#5 Eduardo da Silva
Although a Brazilian by birth, Eduardo played for Croatia on the international stage. He spent his formative years with Dinamo Zagreb before making his professional debut with the same club.
Eduardo grew in stature with each passing season at Zagreb and scored 47 goals in as many games in his final season with the club before moving to Arsenal in 2007. It took him a while to cement his place in the Arsenal starting lineup but that was short lived as a horrific leg injury sidelined him for over a year.
He eventually left Arsenal in 2011 to join Shakhtar after failing to recover completely from the leg injury he sustained and it was at Shakhtar that he revived his career.
Eduardo spent the next four seasons at Shakhtar, winning the league title every single season as well as the Ukrainian cup on three occasions. This was his first stint at the club and he scored 36 goals for them.
He made a return to Shakhtar in 2015 after a season away in Brazil and scored a further 21 goals for the club while also adding more winner’s medals to his cabinet.
On the international stage, he managed to score 29 goals in 64 games which is the third highest for Croatia and 9 more than what Ivica Olic managed for them in 104 games.
The versatile forward currently plays for Legia Warsaw.
#4 Douglas Costa
Douglas Costa is part of Brazil’s World Cup squad despite the immense competitions for places.
The 27-year-old started his career with Gremio before moving to Shakhtar in 2010. He played 191 games for the club between 2010 and 2015, scoring 37 goals and winning 11 trophies.
His brilliant performance for the club over the years finally earned him a big move to Bayern Munich ahead of the 2015/16 season. He started his Bayern Munich career under Pep Guardiola and ended his debut season with 7 goals and 12 assists in all competition despite competing for a starting role with the likes of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Kingsley Coman.
The following season under Ancelotti was not easy but he still had 7 goals and 6 assists to his name. In 2017, he made a loan switch to Juventus and despite starting only 18 league games (and 13 substitute appearances), he ended the season with 4 goals and 12 assists. Only one player in the league had more assists than Costa.
Costa may not be a starter for Brazil at the World Cup, but his trickery and pace can prove to be a valuable asset off the bench.
#3 Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Henrikh Mkhitaryan moved to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2010 from another Ukrainian club Metalurh Donetsk. His first season at the club saw him score only four times in 27 games and the following season it improved to 11 goals in 37 games.
However, it was during the 2012/13 season that he produced his very best. The Armenian scored 29 goals in 42 games across all competitions of which 25 were in 29 games in the league. This was a record for the most goals scored by a player in a season and the fact that he played in midfield makes it even more remarkable.
Ahead of the 2013/14 season, there were interests from several clubs across Europe, most notably Liverpool, but he eventually joined Borussia Dortmund. He spent three seasons with Borussia Dortmund also, of which his final season was one of the best ever by a midfielder in the Bundesliga.
He finished the 2015/16 season with 19 goals and 24 assists in all competitions of which 11 goals and 15 assists were in the league. As a result, he was named the Bundesliga Players’ Player of the Season.
Mkhitaryan left Dortmund to move to Manchester United and won three trophies in his only full season at the club before joining Arsenal this January. It remains to be seen if Fred will suffer the same fate as Mkhitaryan at Manchester United.
The 29-year-old is also the captain of Armenia and has scored 25 goals in 74 games for them.
#2 Willian
Willian is yet another Premier League star who played for Shakhtar Donetsk. He moved to Ukraine in 2007 from Corinthians and spent five and a half seasons with the club.
During his stint with Shakhtar, Willian scored 37 goals in 221 games and was an important member of the team that won the UEFA Cup (now known as Europa League) in 2008/09.
At the time of his departure from Shakhtar, he was linked with a move to the Premier League but he made a move to Russia to play for Anzhi Makhachkala which was then backed by the billionaire Suleyman Kerimov.
However, just months after Willian joined the club, Kerimov decided to change the club’s free-spending strategy and as a result, Willian was made available for transfer along with many high profile players.
He was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, but Spurs swooped in only for Chelsea to nab the player from under their nose.
The 29-year-old has played 236 games for Chelsea so far scoring 44 goals and was named the club’s Player of the Year in 2015/16 as well as the Chelsea Players' Player of the Year in 2015/16 and 2017/18.
He has won all domestic trophies with Chelsea and will now hope to add a World Cup winner’s medal to his trophy cabinet.
#1 Fernandinho
When Manchester City signed a 28-year-old defensive midfielder from the Ukrainian Premier League for £34 million in 2013, it was a big news as the player was relatively unknown and had made only 5 appearances for Brazil. Five years later, he has proven to be one of the club’s best signings.
Fernandinho started his career at Atlético Paranaense before switching to Shakhtar in 2005. He went on to play in Ukraine for eight seasons and represented the Ukrainian giants in 284 games while scoring 53 times.
The 2007/08 season was his best at the club as he was named the club’s and the league’s best player.
After racking up several medals with Shakhtar, he moved to Manchester City and instantly became a crucial member of the team’s midfield. He has already played 231 games for the Citizens and has played a minimum of 43 games every season.
He has won the league twice and the league cup thrice already in England and was one of the most regular starters during the club’s record-breaking Premier League season in 2017/18.
The 33-year-old is now a regular for Brazil and is part of the World Cup squad.
