Diego Costa has said that he will leave Chelsea this summer after being told by Antonio Conte that he will not be part of the Premier League champions’ plans next season.
The striker, speaking after Spain’s 2-2 draw against Colombia in Murcia last night, has revealed that he is looking for a new club and may be open to a return to Atletico Madrid.
“Antonio Conte has sent me a message to tell me I am not in his plans for Chelsea,” Costa said. “My relationship with the coach has been bad this season. It’s a shame, but it’s clear that the coach does not count on me and he does not want me there.”
Costa’s exit would open up room for Romelu Lukaku’s return to Stamford Bridge, with the Everton forward making his desire to leave Goodison Park known. The Belgium striker said on Tuesday that he had an agreement in place with a new club, but did not go as far as naming them.
Costa, 28, was close to leaving Chelsea in January and found himself dropped for a game against Leicester City due to a disagreement with Conte, who had concerns over his fitness.
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However, their relationship was mended and he played a leading role in helping the club to the title, scoring 20 goals.
While Costa said last night that “it would be nice to return to Atletico”, he would not be able to play immediately because the Spanish club are under a transfer suspension and unable to register new players until January 1, 2018.
“Being five months without playing? I do not know, it’s complicated, but people know that I love Atletico a lot and that I love to live in Madrid,” Costa added. “It would be nice to go back, but it’s difficult to be four or five months without playing. It’s a World Cup year and there are many things to think about. I need to play, just that.”
Costa’s desire to play for Spain in Russia next summer would appear to make a big-money move to the Chinese Super League seem less likely, despite the opportunity to earn an unprecedented sum of money, with international managers frowning upon their players moving to the Far East. Tianjin Quanjian, who are managed by the Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro, were interested in signing Costa in January and were planning on offering him £650,000-a-week.