29 Apr 2026 07:03 BST |
4 min read
Mykhailo Mudryk is enduring the most difficult period of his career, but there is a silver lining – at least for his club, Chelsea.
The Ukraine international has not played in a competitive game since late 2024, when he was provisionally suspended by the FA after failing a drug test. Since then, updates on Mudryk’s situation have been few and far between.
Last summer, the FA confirmed that the 25-year-old had been charged with a doping offence, but a final ruling on whether or not Mudryk is actually guilty has still not materialised. The current status of the investigation is unclear due to the highly confidential nature of the case.
If Mudryk is found guilty, he could be banned from football for up to four years from the time of his offence, so he would face another two-and-a-half years on the sidelines. Amid the uncertainty surrounding his fate, he has been keeping himself fit individually.
He has mostly tried to stay out of the spotlight but hasn’t always succeeded. From receiving a driving ban to getting suspended from a Counter-Strike 2 lobby for gloating about World War II massacres, Mudryk has still managed to hit the headlines.
Chelsea’s silver lining
For Chelsea, Mudryk’s ban was only further confirmation that he has been a disastrous signing. The winger, who cost a whopping €70 million when he joined from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023, struggled to make an impact in his first 18 months at Stamford Bridge.
The 25-year-old is easily among the worst signings in Chelsea’s history, and this is unlikely to change, barring a major transformation once his ban expires or he is cleared of any wrongdoing. He is still under contract until 2031, so at least he has some security on that front.
However, should Mudryk indeed get banned, it is possible that Chelsea would look to get out of this deal, similar to Juventus terminating Paul Pogba’s contract after his doping suspension.
While the Ukrainian has been a money sink so far, there is a silver lining for Chelsea. If he doesn’t play for the club again, the Blues will not have to pay the €30m in bonuses they owe Shakhtar.
This has been confirmed by the Ukrainian side’s CEO Sergei Palkin, who previously stated that Mudryk had taken a lie detector test to prove his innocence. “We have €30m of bonuses in his contract,” he told Ben Jacobs.
“If he’s not playing, or Chelsea aren’t reaching results, we are losing €30m. That’s a big financial impact for us. Everybody believes this story will finish as soon as possible with a positive result, and Mudryk will return to playing. Otherwise, we will be in a position to lose €30m.
“I know Mudryk as a player and a person. I believe he will return and start playing again… Everybody is waiting for the court’s decision, and we don’t have any information about when this will take place and when the final decision will be issued.”
This €30m could actually be quite important for Chelsea in the context of their massive financial losses and issues pertaining to UEFA and Premier League regulations.
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