Former commercial director of "Dnipro-1" Vyacheslav Fridman commented on the information about Shakhtar's lawsuit and put an end to the question of money for the outgoing transfers of "Dnipro-1".
Vyacheslav Fridman— "Shakhtar" has filed a lawsuit to declare "Dnipro-1" bankrupt. What do you know about this?
— Nothing, I heard it from you for the first time. Since July 2024, I have no connection to the SK "Dnipro-1" club. Only a few accountants are still working there, all others have been laid off, including me.
— Why are the accountants still working?
— To transfer money from transfers to pay off debts. But no payments have been coming for a long time.
— What do you think, why did Shakhtar go to court?
— Honestly, I don't know. I think they are interested in 20 percent from the sale of Pykhalenko to "Dynamo". This was stipulated in the contract between "Dnipro-1" and "Shakhtar".
— What is "Dnipro-1's" position? Will you write objections to the lawsuit?
— I don’t know, this question is either for Rusol or Bereza, I’m honestly not interested. The case itself can drag on for years.
— Have you talked to Sergey Palkin about this?
— Yes, the last time in the fall of 2024. I told him that the club acknowledges the debt, but there is a general queue and it’s far from a fact that "Shakhtar" will receive this money.
— What assets does "Dnipro-1" have?
— Almost nothing. The base and the stadium belong to "PrivatBank". We settled the debts to them back in September 2024 and signed a document stating that no one owes anybody anything.
From the available assets, there are only old computers, a laptop, and servers that accountants work on. Nothing more.
— What is the situation with debt payments to the players?
— If the club had money, we could talk about something. But as it is, no money — no debt payments.
— Do you think "Shakhtar" will be able to receive any funds?
— I don’t think so, it’s just a drop in the ocean. There are still Kuchery, Svatok, Tretyakov, and a few more players.
— Where did the money from player transfers in the summer of 2024 go?
— I will tell you. They went to the companies that sponsored the club from the fall of 2023 to March 2024. The club then existed on the loan money of these sponsors, in total we returned about 150-170 million hryvnias to them.
Money also went to "PrivatBank" and club employees, the base and the stadium, also partially settled with some players.
Igor Lysenko
