Taras is expected to continue his career in the Turkish championship.
Shakhtar captain Taras Stepanenko is leaving the Donetsk club.
The Miners announced this after the match of the last round of the main stage of the Champions League of the 2024/25 season with Borussia Dortmund.
“Taras Stepanenko played his last match for Shakhtar. The legendary midfielder played for the club since 2010, played 439 matches, scored 30 goals and won 25 trophies with the Miners. We will tell you more details on Thursday,” the press service of the “orange and blacks” said in a post.
The Shakhtar captain himself also confirmed that he was leaving the Donetsk club. “It was a good journey! Thank you, Shakhtar! Everything for the sake of victory… and forever in my heart,” the 35-year-old footballer wrote on Instagram.
After the end of the match in Dortmund, he commented on his departure from Shakhtar in a touching speech. Taras also confirmed that he will continue his career in the Turkish championship.
“I have peace in my heart now. I have been going through a lot of emotions for weeks, including sad ones. It is not easy for me to leave my home team. It is always in my heart. I will always love it, I will always root for it.
But there comes a time when you need to change something. I have decided for myself that I want to play football some more. I am very grateful to the club, its president and management, who met me halfway, let me go and gave me the opportunity to enjoy the game some more.
When you are 35 years old, you can’t say that you will have many options. And Turkey is a country that does not look at the passport. They asked for information about my physical fitness, looked at how I looked, talked to my fitness coaches, to the coaches I had before, including Lucescu. That’s why Turkey. They offered me to play. I would be happy to play.
I am very grateful to the coach who let me play my last match. It is really important for me. In the locker room I said that it was an honor to work in this club. I thanked everyone. For me, these were 14 and a half happy years. There will be only warm and good memories. I am not saying goodbye, but rather saying “see you later”. Ordinary life is longer than football life. I think everything will be fine, I will come to Shakhtar matches and support the team. Everything is fine.
Was there a ceremony to pass on the captain's armband? No, it was not. I have not played like I used to for almost half a year. The team captain is Matviyenko. But I took the captain's armband as a keepsake. They gave me the T-shirt – I will put it in a frame. It is of great importance to me. Life will pass, but such things will remain in my memory.
I have been through everything with Shakhtar. I was there when things were really good. I was there when things were really bad. Shakhtar has always helped me – both when things were good and when things were bad. The president kept every word he said when I first met him.
And I wanted to be a person who repays kindness with kindness. I tried to learn and grow. I grew at Shakhtar not only as a footballer, but also as a person. I learned a lot, tried to be an example for the young people both in defeats and in victories, when I played and when I didn’t play. I always respected the club. “The most important thing for me is that when I leave, I want to be spoken of well, to earn respect and leave a memorable impression,” Tribuna.com quotes Stepanenko as saying.
Earlier, the media reported that Stepanenko would sign a contract with Eyupspor, which currently occupies fourth place in the Turkish Super League.
Stepanenko played for Shakhtar since July 2010 after moving from Zaporizhia's Metalurh. He spent 15 years at the Donetsk club, played 439 matches, scored 30 goals and won 25 trophies.