Chelsea and Enzo Maresca have been without one of their most expensive players throughout the entirety of 2025.
Mykhailo Mudryk has not featured for the Blues since November, with him provisionally suspended from all footballing activity for testing positive for a banned substance.
Chelsea have high hopes for Mudryk, even deciding not to sell him in the previous summer transfer window due to the potential they believe he had.
The Blues spent an extortiante amount of money on the signing of the Ukraine international in order to beat Arsenal to his signature in January 2023.
However, the transfer fee was broken down in order to be more affordable at the time, with Shakhtar Donetsk being owed money down the line as a result of the player achieving certain goals.
Chelsea may avoid paying Mykhailo Mudryk bonuses
Journalist Ben Jacobs told TalkSPORT that the Blues could actually not have to pay a large section of those add ons if Mudryk doesn’t play for the club again.
He said: “€70million fee plus €30million in add-ons, from that €70million, €25million has been invested by the Shakhtar owner into humanitarian causes relating to the war in Ukraine.
“Shakhtar used the rest of it to pay off debts which means they’re not in breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP), so they could remain in European competition without issue from UEFA.
“And now there’s €30million in bonuses, none of which to my knowledge have been paid yet. So, if Mudryk doesn’t play for Chelsea again, then Shakhtar will effectively not be eligible for those bonuses.”
The Blues are looking at signing a new left winger in the upcoming summer transfer window, with the future no means assured for Jadon Sancho either.
The likes of Rafael Leao and Alejandro Garnacho are on their shortlist as they weigh up which positions are a priority going into the 2025/26 season.
Finance expert on Chelsea’s finances
Finance expert Adam Williams spoke to The Chelsea Chronicle about the club’s current financial situation, and he stated that the club’s new way of doing business leads to add-ons being a key part of the deal, although not to the extent of some of their rivals.
He said: “Contingent liabilities are basically potential future costs, in this case for transfer add-ons. So if Player A scores 10 goals this season, the club Chelsea bought him from might be due £1m.
“Chelsea’s accounts for the last financial year show contingent liabilities over the next 12 months of £74m. Basically, that means they are liable to pay £74m to other teams if certain conditions are met in that period.
“If the figures in the reports are accurate then add-ons in the Mudryk deal make up quite a big chunk of that figure. If he doesn’t play again for the club, they will save that money.
“Chelsea have moved towards more of an incentivised model with contracts, rewarding players with a lower base wage but bigger performance-related bonuses.
“But they aren’t taking quite the same approach with transfer add-ons. Their £74m figure is much more modest than, say, Man United who are at £110m or Man City, who are way ahead with £240m-plus.”
Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have been consistent with the way they want to do business, and the plethora of big signings they make do require them to spread the funds where possible.
It is likely this method continues, with the incentivised contracts being key for keeping new additions hungry to succeed.
