Catalan giants get a twelfth man in tonight’s UEFA Super Cup

The annual UEFA Super Cup usually serves as little more than an excuse to use Monaco’s exquisite Stade Louis II stadium, and tonight sees Champions League winners Barcelona distract themselves from the start of the domestic season by taking on UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk. The game - on ITV1 tonight from 7.45 - may not be a classic, but it will be made a little more interesting by the imminent transfer of Dmytro Chygrynskiy.

The defender and kit man’s nightmare has announced that the game against Barcelona will be his last for the Ukrainian side, as he will sign for a new club on Monday. That new club just so happens to be Barcelona. Translated from Sport:

“It will be a very special game. It will be the last with Shakhtar shirt and then I’ll go to Barca,” he told the media, later confirming he arrive in Barcelona on Monday.

“For any player, without exception, it’s a lifelong dream to play for a team like Barca. I am proud to have been signed.”

Chygrynskiy added that he is “convinced” his exit will “not adversely affect his team.” If this was a competition that Shakhtar actually wanted to win, surely the manager wouldn’t take the risk of playing him?