Shakhtar Donetsk say selling £88m Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea would be 'maybe IMPOSSIBLE' if they were still owned by Russian Roman Abramovich - because the Ukrainian club feared 'critics of these kind of connections'

Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin believes selling new Chelsea signing Mykhailo Mudryk to the club under former owner Roman Abramovich would have been 'maybe impossible.'

Abramovich, who had close ties to Russia, saw his reign at the helm of Chelsea come to an end following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

After sanctions from the UK government, the succeeding month Abramovich announced his intention to sell the club he had owned since 2003, leading to Todd Boehly's and Clearelake Capital's takeover - and a stream of big-money signings since, including Mudryk.