Ukraine international, Yaroslav Rakitskiy has left Russian club Zenit St Petersburg after he asked to be released from his contract following Russia’s invasion of his home country.

The 32-year-old has not featured for the club since Russia launched an invasion on his home country.

Russian side Zenit St Petersburg – the club reportedly supported by Putin have confirmed that Rakitskiy has left the club.

Rakitskiy, who made 108 appearances for the club, had asked to be released.   

‘The club and our supporters wish to thank Yaroslav Rakitskiy for his time here and recognise the professionalism and passion he displayed while with us,’ a statement on Zenit’s website said.

‘We sincerely wish the best to Yaroslav, his friends and his family.’

In 2019, he was actually dropped by the national team due to the controversy surrounding his decision to join the Russian side from former club Shakhtar Donetsk.

The defender made 108 appearances for the Russian side, scoring seven goals.

Rakitskyi was capped 54 times by Ukraine’s national team before his international retirement in 2019.