Chelsea agree to send Diego Costa back to Atletico Madrid.
Chelsea outcast Diego Costa is returning to his old club, Atletico Madrid. The two teams have agreed to a fee for the striker after months of speculated talks. The deal is subject to personal terms and a medical. According to Sky Sports, the fee is well over £50 million.
Chelsea Football Club has today agreed terms with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa... https://t.co/TpJBp3W2Lf pic.twitter.com/5o6OM10inP
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 21, 2017
Costa has been pushing the move back to his old stomping ground for months after a suspected fall out with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. Due to a ban on Atletico Madrid’s transfer activity, Costa would not be able to play until January. Therefore, the teams did not feel the need to come to an agreement in the summer. However, Costa refused to return to Cobham to train with Chelsea. Ultimately, only one solution was going to please both sides. It turned into a matter of when, not if, Costa would return to Madrid.
The Spanish international has been linked to a move back to the Spanish capital for several years. This season is not the first we’ve heard of it. The 28-year-old was purchased by Chelsea from Atletico in 2014. Although he played well on the field, Costa seems to have never adjusted to life in London.
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Despite all negativity and nasty rumors, Costa’s stint at Chelsea was a success. All things considered, the Spaniard netted over 50 goals in his time as a Blue. In addition to his massive goalscoring success, Costa helped bring two Premier League titles to Stamford Bridge (2014-15 and 2016-17). With Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata settling in at striker, the time was right for the Blues to finally cash in on the 28-year-old while they still could.
Although Costa will not be playing for Atletico Madrid anytime soon, the Premier League champions travel to Spain on Wednesday for the second match of Champions League group stages.