"It's almost one month we were on the pulse trying to understand what we tracked in the Greek league and the Scottish league." That line from Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin tells you everything about how unusual — and nerve-shredding — this Champions League qualification was.
Shakhtar Donetsk are heading straight to the Champions League group phase next season, skipping three qualifying rounds, after a chain of results across Europe fell perfectly in their favour on Sunday. AEK Athens clinched the Greek title while Olympiakos drew. Rangers lost at Celtic. And Shakhtar beat Poltava 4-0 to seal their 16th Ukrainian league title. Three results, one Sunday, and suddenly Ukraine's most decorated club has guaranteed income of at least €35 million from UEFA.
How the backdoor opened
This wasn't a straightforward qualification. Ukraine sits 23rd in UEFA's country rankings, which means Shakhtar's league title alone doesn't carry a direct Champions League entry anymore — the war has cost the league years of European coefficient points.
The route in came via a UEFA rule: when the Champions League is won by a club already qualified for the following season — as will happen when either PSG or Arsenal lift the trophy on May 30 — that reserved spot is reallocated to the highest-ranked national champion still in the qualifying rounds. Shakhtar sat at No. 45 in UEFA's club rankings with 56.25 points, boosted by their Conference League semifinal run. Olympiakos (No. 36) and Rangers (No. 38) both had higher rankings but failed to win their leagues. The door stayed open, and Shakhtar walked through it.
For a club that has been playing domestic home games in Lviv and European matches in Kraków since Russia's full-scale invasion began — and which was first exiled from its home city of Donetsk back in 2014 — €35 million isn't just prize money. It's operational survival.
The squad Arda Turan built
A year ago, Shakhtar finished third. Now they're Champions League bound under Arda Turan, the 39-year-old former Atletico Madrid and Barcelona midfielder who took the job with a rebuilding project in front of him. Palkin credits him as "a coach with our DNA" and a strong motivator of a young squad — and the results back that up.
The Brazilian pipeline that produced Willian, Fernandinho and Fred continues. Shakhtar currently have 12 Brazilians in their squad, mostly under 23. It's an unusual setup — young players from South America living and training in a country at war, playing home matches in a city that isn't their own. Palkin frames it as family: "They will be in their environment, with their language and culture." Whether that retention model holds once bigger clubs come calling during a Champions League season is one of the more interesting questions heading into the autumn.
- Shakhtar's 16th Ukrainian Premier League title sealed with a 4-0 win over Poltava
- Direct entry to the 36-team Champions League phase, no qualifying rounds
- Minimum €35 million (~$41 million) guaranteed in UEFA prize money
- Club has played European home games in Kraków, Poland since the full-scale invasion
- Champions League home venue for 2025/26 not yet confirmed — previous matches played in Germany
Where they'll host those four Champions League home games between September and January is still undecided. Palkin says the strategy is to "increase the geography" of fixtures, pointing out that ten million Ukrainians are now living abroad. Shakhtar's fanbase is scattered across Europe. In a grim way, that actually makes them one of the more geographically flexible clubs in the competition.
The Donbas Arena — their real home, a showpiece stadium from Euro 2012 — remains under Russian occupation. "All the information we receive is from newspapers," Palkin said. That detail sits with you.
