Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk backs Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk to bring 'fourth Ballon d’Or to Ukraine' following €100m transfer

Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has backed Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk to win the Ballon d'Or in the future.

The boxer has gone on to claim that the forward is worth more than what the Blues paid to sign him from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Arsenal were leading the chase for Mudryk, and the Ukrainian star was keen on a move to the Emirates. However, Chelsea jumped into the race at the last minute and swooped him to Stamford Bridge by matching the offer from the Gunners.

Speaking to Parimatch, Usyk claimed that Chelsea's fee for Mudryk is worth it as he is a player who is on the rice. He said:

"No, it doesn't. Everything has risen. Prices, and money, are a little higher than they were. I think he's worth a little more than €100 million because I've been watching this guy. I saw him for the first time playing for the U-18 or U-19 team."

"The hairstyle that catches your eye, the tattoos, I mean, he was playing, and I was watching him, and I liked him. It seems to me that this guy can bring the fourth Ballon d'Or to Ukraine."

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Chelsea star backed to win Ballon d'Or

Leicester City v CFC - Premier League

Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi spoke about Mudryk before he joined Chelsea and claimed that Arsenal were chasing a player who was bound to win the Ballon d'Or.

De Zerbi was confident in the player he coached at Shakhtar and said in a press conference:

"Mudryk is a fantastic player, but Brighton can't buy him. I like him, because I like all my ex-players. But Brighton can't buy him, Arsenal, I don't know. I think Mudryk can win the Ballon d'Or in the future. I know the value of Mudryk, he has the potential to win the Ballon d'Or."

However, Mudryk is not getting carried away and has admitted that only hard-working players get to the top. The Ukrainian said in an interview with Tribuna:

"There are people who are motivated and there are people who also have discipline. Motivation comes and goes but discipline takes you to the next level."

"Discipline is about doing something you don't want to, for example because you haven't slept enough, but you want result. And there are 5% of people who follows discipline. This is what makes the difference between settling for good and settling for the best."

Mudryk registered his first assist for Chelsea last weekend during their 3-1 away win over Leicester City.