Online Reporter
CHELSEA winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been given a four-year ban for a doping offence.
But the 25-year-old is appealing it through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Mudryk was provisionally suspended in December 2024 following a positive drugs test for a banned substance.
The banned substance meldonium was found in a urine sample while he was on international duty with Ukraine.
He then received a charge the following June. The four-year ban has been imposed by the FA following an investigation.
Mudryk has maintained his innocence throughout the process and is training individually in the hope of returning. The winger has also hired Morgan Sports Law – the same firm that represented Paul Pogba during his doping ban – to represent him.
A hearing for his appeal is yet to be sanctioned.
Mudryk is looking to get the ban fully overturned or, in the worst-case scenario, reduced.
However, due to his ongoing ban, Shakhtar have missed out on the money.
Shakhtar CEO Serhii Palkin said: “We have €30m (£26m) million of bonuses in his contract.
“If he’s not playing, or Chelsea aren’t reaching results, we are losing €30m.
“That’s a big financial impact for us. 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.”
Meanwhile, MUDRYK’S four year doping ban is set to cost his former employers a staggering £26million, according to a chief at his old club.
The winger signed for the Blues from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee potentially rising to £88m, with £26m of that in performance-related add-ons.
However, with the FA slapping Mudryk with a four-year doping suspension after a sample of the banned substance meldonium was found in his urine while on international duty with Ukraine, it is costing his old club a load of dosh.
The 25-year-old, who is appealing it through the Court of Arbitration for Sport, was provisionally suspended in December 2024 following a positive drug test before he was officially charged in June 2025, and now subsequently banned.
The last game he featured in was a Europa Conference League match on November 28 2024.
As a result, Mudryk is unable to contribute any goals or assists and can’t help Chelsea win any trophies like the Champions League and Premier League, which are both believed to be among the clauses in the deal that took him to Stamford Bridge in January 2023.
That means any clauses included in the deal cannot be fulfilled, and according to Shakhtar CEO Serhii Palkin, Mudryk’s absence is leaving a big financial impact on the club.
He told Ben Jacobs: “We have €30m (£26m) million of bonuses in his contract.
“If he’s not playing, or Chelsea aren’t reaching results, we are losing €30m.
“That’s a big financial impact for us.
“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.”
Mudryk is facing a ban of up to four years if he is found guilty of his doping charge.
His contract with Chelsea runs through to 2031.
Mudryk has largely kept a low profile since his exile began, with only sporadic posts on social media, but has been seen in the odd post with girlfriend Jordyn Jones – who he was most recently seen bench-pressing at the gym.
He told fans in an Instagram post at the start of the year: “Happy New year to all my fans.
“I just wanted to say thank you for your support. I see all your messages and truly appreciate them, so please don’t give up on me as I will not give up on myself.
“Can’t wait to see you soon.” -Sun
