Mykhailo Mudryk tests positive, Chelsea's 100 million euros are in vain?

The reporter reported coldly For Premier League giants Chelsea, Mudryk's positive drug test was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue. Because this "Mr. 100 million" + Chelsea team all-time standard is likely to be banned for 4 years. For Mykhailo Mudryk, who was already questioned as the "biggest parallel product" in the history of the Blues due to his poor performance in the early days of his joining, it is now even worse, and he has become the second most well-known player in world football in recent years after Pogba to test positive for drugs.

At the beginning of 2023, the Blues and Arsenal competed to raise the transfer fee of Mudryk, which is worth only 40 million euros, to a sky-high price of 100 million euros, shocking the world football world. Because of his title as the all-time leader of Chelsea and his 'steal' from Arsenal, he was seen as a major win in the transfer market by Chelsea's American owner, Boehly.

But the Ukrainian winger is under tremendous pressure due to the double title of "Mr. 100 Million" and Chelsea's all-time standard. Since joining the Blues, he has been labeled as the biggest "parallel import" in team history for his poor performance. As a rotation player this season, he played 15 times, 3 goals and 5 assists, and his performance just improved and suffered a "fatal blow" of a positive drug test.

Chelsea have invested at least €70 million in a base transfer fee on him, and if he loses all his money, Mudryk will be the biggest "parallel import" in the history of the team. Ironically, the last Blues star to be labelled was also Ukrainian, and yes, it was Shevchenko, who was brought in by Abli.

Mudryk has not been included in the Chelsea squad since the Premier League clash with Aston Villa on 1 December. Boss Maresca has said he was absent due to illness, but in fact tested positive for drugs, and Chelsea suspended him temporarily.

Mudryk tested positive for meldonium after a match between Ukraine and Albania in the UEFA Nations League group stage on November 19. Meldonium was synthesized in Latvia in the 1970s and was widely used in sports circles in the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. It is commonly used to treat chronic heart failure and angina, but it can help improve endurance and recover from excessive fatigue in athletes.

Like Pogba, Mudryk's positive drug test is also suspected to be linked to the mistaken supplement. In August, he had undergone a surprise drug test and the results were normal, so he insisted that it was a mistake, and in addition to waiting for the results of the urine sample from the B bottle, Mudryk's legal team is ready to appeal.

Mykhailo Mudryk tested positive for drugs has made things even more difficult for him at Chelsea. After joining in early 2023, he has almost never come up with a performance that matches the sky-high transfer fee, and has been criticized. He was also unlucky under psychological pressure, hitting the post seven times in 41 games last season. Despite regularly working at the gym and training ground, the nightlife makes it hard to believe that he can prove himself.

Maresca gave Mykhailo Mudryk a start at the start of the season but substituted him at half-time against Wolves. The Ukrainian never started again in the Premier League, only getting more time in the UEFA Cup and Carabao Cup. Now, a positive drug test has put his career in jeopardy like never before.

Sports fans are no strangers to meldonium. In 2016, Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova was banned for two years for being positive for meldonium, and at the time, she even learned through a search engine that it was the main ingredient in a supplement called sodium meldonium. After much setback, WADA admitted that Sharapova was not taking meldonium to improve her performance, but she was unable to compete for up to 15 months.

Mudryk's career prospects depend on how his legal team responds to the lawsuit. If a compromise is made with the anti-doping organization, the absence of a urine sample from a B vial will be considered a voluntary surrender, most likely with a six- to 12-month ban. However, if you insist on testing the urine sample from bottle B, if the result is consistent with bottle A, you will be severely punished, and the ban period will be 2 to 4 years.

Of course, the 23-year-old Mudryk has an age advantage over Pogba, but even if the ban is only six to 12 months, it will be an unbearable blow for him who is struggling at Chelsea, and the future is uncertain.