Chelsea Star Mykhailo Mudryk Quits Football for Athletics Amid Doping Scandal

In a stunning twist that has left the football world reeling, Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk, once valued at a staggering €100 million, has reportedly quit football to pursue a new dream: sprinting at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The 24-year-old Ukrainian speedster, long hailed for his blistering pace on the pitch, is said to be shifting focus after recording a top speed of 36.67 km/h, a number that rivals the world’s fastest sprinters.

The decision, first reported by Spanish outlet Marca, comes against the backdrop of a career-threatening doping suspension. Mudryk tested positive for meldonium in December 2024, a banned substance tied to performance enhancement. Under FA anti-doping rules, such an infraction carries a potential four-year ban, a punishment that could effectively end his football career. Yet the winger’s camp, as well as Ukrainian sources, have pushed back against claims of a permanent switch, dismissing the reports as premature.

The scientific debate around meldonium has further muddied the waters. A 2016 study in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology noted that positive tests for the substance could result from unintentional contamination or its prior legal use, leaving room for interpretation in doping tribunals. Still, the stigma of a failed test lingers heavily, and for Mudryk, the shadow of scandal has coincided with his most radical career decision yet.

What makes this pivot remarkable is the sheer improbability of it. Sprinting at an Olympic level requires not just raw speed but years of technical training and conditioning.

World Athletics’ benchmark for the men’s 100m remains under 10 seconds, a standard that even elite footballers rarely meet without extensive preparation. Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter of all time, averaged 37.58 km/h in his 9.58-second world record. Mudryk’s recorded pace places him tantalizingly close, but his lack of track pedigree makes the challenge monumental.

Chelsea fans, meanwhile, are grappling with the potential loss of a player once seen as a cornerstone of their rebuild. Signed amid much fanfare and hype, Mudryk’s tenure has been turbulent, with flashes of brilliance overshadowed by inconsistency and now scandal.

His sudden detour into athletics raises broader questions about the pressures and pitfalls facing modern players, where immense valuations and expectations can unravel careers in unexpected ways.

For Mudryk, the sprint toward redemption may now take place on the Olympic track rather than the Premier League pitch. Whether he can transform raw footballing speed into Olympic gold remains to be seen, but the story of a €100 million footballer swapping the ball for starting blocks has already entered the realm of sporting folklore.