Chelsea’s £88m Mudryk handed four-year ban over failed doping test

Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023 in a deal worth up to £88 million, denies any knowing ingestion of the banned substance and is mounting an appeal through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

A career brought to a sudden halt

Mudryk has not featured for Chelsea since November 2024, when he last appeared in a UEFA Conference League fixture against 1. FC Heidenheim. Following the failed drug test in December 2024, he was placed under a provisional suspension and has since been training individually — including hiring out the pitch at Uxbridge FC to maintain his fitness. His legal team, Morgan Sports Law — the same firm that represented Paul Pogba in his own doping case — is now fighting to have the ban overturned or significantly reduced. No date has yet been set for a final CAS hearing.

Financial fallout stretches beyond Stamford Bridge

The suspension carries serious financial consequences for Mudryk’s former club, Shakhtar Donetsk. CEO Serhii Palkin has confirmed the Ukrainian side stand to lose up to €30 million (£26 million) in performance-related bonuses built into the original transfer agreement — payments that are contingent on Mudryk playing competitive football and Chelsea achieving certain results. Palkin acknowledged the situation was a significant blow, while expressing personal confidence that Mudryk would eventually return to the pitch.

For now, Mudryk’s career remains in limbo. With no confirmed timeline for the CAS verdict, both the player and club face an extended wait before knowing whether one of English football’s most expensive signings will ever play at Stamford Bridge again.