Mykhailo Mudryk is back, and Chelsea is not wasting time easing him in. The Ukrainian winger, whose doping case has now been resolved, could take the field against Juventus on August 5, 2026, in Hong Kong after completing just two training sessions with the squad.

The timing matters beyond football. Every minute Mudryk logs on the pitch is a minute of prime advertising real estate for BingX, the crypto exchange whose logo sits on Chelsea’s sleeve. That sleeve does not just face opposing defenders. It faces global cameras in a high-profile preseason fixture in one of Asia’s most commercially lucrative markets.

From Shakhtar to suspension to Hong Kong

Chelsea signed Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk on January 15, 2023, for an initial fee of €70 million, with the deal potentially climbing to €100 million through add-ons. Then came the doping case. Mudryk was provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, and the legal and regulatory process that followed kept him sidelined for an extended stretch. The specifics of the settlement have not been disclosed publicly, but the outcome is clear enough: he is cleared to travel, cleared to train, and apparently cleared to play competitively.

BingX, sleeve sponsorships, and the crypto-sport crossover

BingX became Chelsea’s official crypto exchange partner in January 2024, which included sleeve sponsorship rights. Chelsea renewed the BingX partnership in April 2026 for the 2026/27 season.

There are no Mudryk-specific tokens, no NFT drops tied to the Juventus friendly, and no blockchain mechanics woven into this particular return story. The crypto angle here is structural, not speculative. It is about what it means for an exchange to have consistent, high-visibility placement on a club playing a preseason match in Asia, with a marquee player returning from a headline-generating absence.

What investors should watch

For anyone tracking the intersection of crypto and traditional sports, the Chelsea-BingX renewal is a data point in a longer trend. Exchanges have been pulling back from some high-profile sports deals over the past few years as market conditions tightened and regulatory scrutiny increased. A multi-season renewal at Premier League level, in the current environment, is a statement of confidence from BingX about its own financial position and growth trajectory.