Arsenal MATCHED Chelsea’s bid for Mykhailo Mudryk but the Gunners had ‘no chance to close’

Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Sergei Palkin has revealed why Chelsea beat Arsenal to the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk for £88m after both sides made identical offers.

The Gunners seemed to be in the driver’s seat of the Ukrainian striker before Chelsea snuck in at the 11th hour to sign the player on a massive eight-and-a-half-year deal.

In an interview with AtléticoPalkin revealed that Shakhtar rejected an offer from Arsenal which, including add-ons, matched Chelsea’s £88m offer.

Chelsea beat Arsenal with the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk despite matching their £88m offer

He said: “When they (Arsenal) proposed the final offer of €70m (£62m) plus €30m (£26m) in add-ons, we sat down and started talking internally about how it will come to pass. in terms of payments, the fixed part and bond issues.

“We realized that we will not close this deal (with Arsenal). I told Edu (Gunners sporting director) that I did my best but it was not possible.

The transfer was officially confirmed on Sunday and Mudryk was present during Chelsea’s win over Crystal Palace.

It has been revealed how Chelsea’s offer for Mudryk was ‘much more serious’ than Arsenal’s

Shakhtar chief executive Sergei Palkin said Chelsea’s bonuses were ‘achievable’

It came after Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali and global transfer director Paul Winstanley traveled to Turkey on Saturday, where Shakhtar train, and returned to London with the player on their private jet.

Palkin revealed in the interview that Chelsea’s offer was accepted because they were “much more serious” and their bonuses, which include winning the Premier League and Champions League for the remainder of his contract, were “attainable”.

He said: ‘These bonuses should be somehow achievable and realistic, let’s say. For this reason, in this case, Chelsea were much more serious and fair on some points.

‘When we met Chelsea, we all stuck together. So that you understand the context, it was for nine or 10 hours. They invited the player and explained the whole project to us. We realized that yes, if you look now, Chelsea have some kinds of problems, but it’s normal because they have a period of transition from one owner to another.

‘It’s understandable. They would like to change a lot. So when they tell you the whole story and you look at the next two, three, four, five years, then you see that they have a serious project.

Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali traveled to Turkey and brought Mudryk back on a private plane on Saturday.

“I think they will build one of the best clubs in the world because, I tell you, they are very serious in all directions: sports science, the stadium side, the business side, in all things.” To us, they seemed very ambitious.

It was also revealed that Arsenal made their first contact with the player in ‘October or November’, a month before his interest with Shakhtar was formalized.

Meanwhile, Chelsea contacted Palkin at the end of December and asked to speak to Mudryk, who began his negotiations with the 22-year-old.

Shakhtar Donetsk has been very open about the details behind Mudryk’s move.

On Monday, Shakhtar chairman Rinat Akhmetov revealed that part of the deal would see them play Graham Potter’s side in a friendly on a transfer and revealed that Graham Potter’s side will play Shakhtar in a friendly on a ‘Donetsk ukrainian’.

Arsenal contacted Mudryk in ‘October or November’ before Chelsea began lobbying for the player in December

Mudryk was revealed to Chelsea fans at half time in their win over Crystal Palace

He also announced that £20.5 million of the £88 million will go to Ukrainian soldiers to fight against Russia amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

in a official statement on their websiteAkhmetov wrote: ‘FC Shakhtar has signed a final agreement with Chelsea FC and therefore Ukrainian footballer Mykhaylo Mudryk will continue his career with the Blues in the strongest national championship, the English Premier League.

‘First of all, I want to thank the entire civilized world for helping Ukraine. Today we can talk about Ukrainian football thanks to the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian people and the tremendous support of the entire civilized world. Only by joining efforts will we overcome the evil that has come to our homes.

‘I have never hidden that my dream is to win European trophies. This means that players like Mudryk should be invited to our club, to our Ukrainian championship, and we should win European trophies with those players, instead of rooting for them, even when they play for the best clubs in the world.

‘Unfortunately, it is impossible now, as Ukraine is waging the horrendous and unjust war that the Russian Federation is waging against us. But I am sure that we will win. And we will play a friendly against Chelsea at the Donbass Arena in a Ukrainian Donetsk.