Mudryk was backed to win Ballon d’Or by Chelsea

Jacque Talbot

Updated: 18 Dec 2024 04:00 CST
3 min read

Chelsea denied the sale of Mykhailo Mudryk last January believing that the winger would be a future Ballon d'Or winner, according to reports.

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The Telegraph state that Roberto De Zerbi, Mudryk’s former coach at Shakhtar Donetsk, thought that the Ukrainian could become the world’s best player.

Before he made his €70 million move from his home nation,

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal were famously desperate to sign Mudryk. The outlet also states that Brentford deemed him to be one of the best players they ever tracked.

The attacker was included in the matchday squad for the London club's win against Aston Villa on 1 December but was not brought on the pitch

Head coach Enzo Maresca had said publicly that this was because of illness.

Chelsea confirmed on Tuesday that they had been contacted by the Football Association (FA) after an "adverse finding in a routine urine test" provided by the youngster.

Under current rules, players found to have intentionally taken a banned substance can be banned for up to four years. Now

Mudryk is waiting on his ‘B’ sample results.

Chelsea's statement

Chelsea published the statement following the shock news: “Chelsea Football Club can confirm the Football Association recently contacted our player Mykhailo Mudryk concerning an adverse finding in a routine urine test.

“Both the club and Mykhailo fully support the FA’s testing programme and all our players, including Mykhailo, are regularly tested. Mykhailo has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances.

“Both Mykhailo and the club will now work with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding. The club will not be commenting any further.”

Mudryk himself wrote on social media: “This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules, and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.

“I know that I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can.”

Read more about: Premier League, Chelsea, Mykhaylo Mudryk