The fate of Mykhailo Mudryk has become one of the most discussed topics of the winter, which interested not only Ukrainian fans, but the entire football world, following a possible quick turn in the striker’s career. And it has arrived! English Chelsea took advantage of Arsenal’s initiative at the last moment, personally agreeing to all the requirements of Shakhtar and Mudrik, thanks to which the transfer was processed quickly, and the 22-year-old has already managed to visit Stamford Bridge, where his new team beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0. In the summaries below, he will find out why this transfer can be called unique and in a way even crazy.
Transfer amount
Arsenal have been following Mudrik since last summer, and in October made a huge offer of €50m (20m more than Transfermarkt estimates), but Shakhtar thought the amount was ridiculous. In January, the bid and the negotiations had already reached almost 100 million euros, which was not at all convenient for Arsenal. And yet, the Gunners almost tried to convince the Donetsk representatives for a fixed amount + bonuses, as Chelsea unexpectedly stepped in and handed over 70+30 million euros.
Pitmen director Darijo Srna explained Mudrik’s assessment as follows: “Prices are controlled by the football market, not by me. Anthony, Grealish cost 100 million each. Our Misha has no less quality and talent than theirs.” In November, his statement seemed crazy, but as we can see, he found the buyer. .
It is expensive?
The English Premier League has long been accustomed to big spending, but even here Chelsea stood out from the general background. 100 million euros is powerful even compared to the Roman Abramovich era. The Aristocrats made the biggest purchase in the winter transfer window in Premier League history, and in the summer they bought more expensive only Romelu Lukaku and Jack Grealish. Mudrik cost Chelsea what Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba, who was Juventus’ perennial leader and one of the best central midfielders on the planet.
Even Virgil van Dijk, Aymeric Laporte, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bruno Fernandes, Fernando Torres, Angel di Maria, Kevin de Bruyne and dozens of other top players have moved to Premier League clubs for far less money. Excuse me, but Mudrik is clearly superfluous in this undertaking.
What about the contract?
Mudrik himself hinted in every possible way and talked about the desire to move to Arsenal, but Chelsea, thanks to money, convinced not only Shakhtar, but also the Ukrainian himself. Presumably, the Blues gave Mikhail 50-70% more money than the Gunners offered, that is, it will be guaranteed that about 7.5 million euros per year will “fall” into Mudrik’s account, not including the bonuses.
The duration of the contract is also worth mentioning, until the summer of 2031, that is, for 8.5 years. Usually such long contracts are not signed in football, limited to five years, but recently there has been a new trend, which is more often applied in the same hockey.
Chelsea are taking a big risk by signing such a long contract, because if they want to get rid of the striker, Mudrik is unlikely to want to leave a comfortable place where he can earn more than 60 million euros in eight years.
