Mykhailo Mudryk: Why was Chelsea winger given secret ban?

Mudryk has been suspended and unable to play for either Chelsea or Ukraine since the FA provisionally suspended him 16 months ago.

He remains contracted to the Blues until 2031, having signed a long deal when he joined for £61m in 2022, as part of the club’s plan to amortise the cost of transfers and contracts.

Amortisation means spreading costs out over many years in order to reduce them in each year of a business’ accounts.

If Mudryk’s ban is upheld by Cas, he would be unable to play again until roughly December 2028, as that is four years since his provisional suspension began.

But if the ban were to be reduced by Cas, he could be back on the pitch in a much shorter timeframe. Sources close to the player believe he could be back in action as early as next season.

Chelsea would be able to terminate Mudryk’s contract once the Cas process has concluded, given an anti-doping ban constitutes a breach of employment terms in most footballers contracts.

Were they to do that, the amortised cost of the remaining years of Mudryk’s contract would disappear from the club accounts – effectively writing the expense off and helping their finances significantly.

On the other hand though, Chelsea would be entitled to sell Mudryk for some sort of transfer fee if they maintain his contract and keep paying his wages.

Or they could of course continue to pay his wages as a member of their squad and reintegrate him into the team once the ban has ended.