Chelsea’s Diego Costa problem continues to be an irritant to the club.
Over the past week there have been attempts to position Diego Costa as some sort of victim in the saga, which would be easier to swallow if it wasn’t for everything which came before Antonio Conte telling the player he wasn’t wanted.
Surprisingly quickly after Diego Costa joined Chelsea there were reports in Spain about his unhappiness at the club, and his longing for a return to Atletico Madrid.
What was immediately dismissed by Chelsea supporters as untrue, quickly showed itself to be more than speculation, and since then Costa and Atletico have been stirring the Chelsea pot.
Causing just the right amount of trouble to keep the situation manageable, at least until this simmer.
Conte’s mistake was playing right into the hands of Costa, and allowing the striker a chance to position himself as the wronged party. He’s been wallowing in that status since.
With seemingly zero regard for Chelsea and what their wishes may be, Costa has spoken once again. Visiting the Federação Sergipana de Futebol, a regional football association in Brazil, Costa left them with a statement to release on his behalf.
Brazil’s GloboEsporte quote the Chelsea player as saying: “My destination is already set. I must return to Atletico Madrid next season. It turns out that there is the impasse that Chelsea doesn’t want to release me. But I believe this situation will be resolved now on my return to Spain.”
That last bit is perhaps important, he reckons he’s returning to Spain next, not London.
Meanwhile, Atletico probably sit back chuckling, hoping their dastardly plan with Costa sees the player return for a fraction of his worth. Atletico have no rush, they can’t even register Costa until January, so things could get much nastier as far as they’re concerned.
Anything to drive the price down.
Atletico Madrid and Diego Costa may have underestimated Chelsea.
