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Chelsea's £88M bet on Mudryk cost the club 20 months of its winger
Chelsea paid up to £88M for Mykhailo Mudryk, then lost him for 20 months after a meldonium finding — the four-year ban was cut to time served in July 2026.
Chelsea FC · Mykhailo Mudryk · 2026-07-31
What happened
Chelsea signed Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 for an initial £61 million, in a deal reported at up to £88 million — one of the biggest bets of the club's new ownership era. He made 73 appearances and scored nine goals before the case began.
In December 2024, Chelsea confirmed the FA had contacted the club over an adverse finding for meldonium in a sample given while Mudryk was on Ukraine duty in late 2024. He was provisionally suspended and has not played a competitive match since November 2024. The FA later charged him and imposed a four-year ban, which he appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
On 31 July 2026 the FA confirmed the case was resolved: Mudryk accepted breaking anti-doping rules and agreed to a suspension equal to time already served, clearing him to return "with immediate effect" after roughly 20 months out. Chelsea said it was "pleased that the matter has now reached a conclusion."
Why it happened
- A bet of up to £88 million spent two full seasons on the shelf: the winger Chelsea's new era was built around did not play a competitive match from November 2024 to July 2026.
- The penalty Chelsea had to plan around was four years — a ban that would have run until December 2028, longer than the club could reasonably wait for its record-priced winger.
- The finding was thin: the FA noted the meldonium concentration was low enough that current WADA guidance would not have flagged it — yet the process still cost the club two seasons.
- The resolution required Mudryk to admit breaking the rules, and his contract runs to 2031 — so the bet continues with a winger returning from 20 months out.
The lesson
Chelsea's up-to-£88M bet on Mudryk lost 20 months to a finding so thin the FA said current WADA rules would not have flagged it. The process, not the substance, is what cost the club two seasons.
Aftermath
On 31 July 2026 the FA confirmed Mudryk's case was resolved: he accepted breaking anti-doping rules and agreed to a suspension equal to time already served, returning "with immediate effect" after 20 months out. He was provisionally suspended in December 2024 after a meldonium finding. The FA charged him in June 2025 and imposed a four-year ban, which he appealed to CAS; the FA noted the concentration was low enough that current WADA guidance would not have flagged it. Mudryk joined Chelsea in January 2023 for an initial £61 million (up to £88 million) and is contracted to 2031.
Sources
- Chelsea FC — Club statement: Mykhailo Mudryk (Dec 17, 2024)
- BBC Sport — Mykhailo Mudryk ban: Chelsea winger free to return to football (Jul 31, 2026)
- Sky Sports — Chelsea's Mudryk cleared to play after doping ban resolved (Jul 31, 2026)
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