Ukraine international Yaroslav Rakitskiy has been given permission to leave Zenit St Petersburg with immediate effect.
The defender has spent the last three years with the Russian giants, making a total of 108 appearances in all competitions.
The 32-year-old had been in a position where he had four months left on his contract, leaving him in a position to explore a transfer elsewhere.
However, Zenit announced on Wednesday that they have granted a request from Ratikskiy to leave with immediate effect, a consequence of Russia's invasion of the player's homeland.
Yaroslav Rakitskiy has requested an early end to his contract and this has been agreed by the club.
— FC Zenit in English✨ (@fczenit_en) March 2, 2022
We sincerely wish all the best to Yaroslav, his friends and his family.
Details: https://t.co/OiaUCPaado pic.twitter.com/RUBE1t0eFZ
While Russian clubs were sanctioned by UEFA on Monday, Zenit were eliminated from the Europa League last week.
Darren Plant
