I hold no anger towards Antonio Conte – Diego Costa

• Posted on September 22, 2017
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Diego Costa says he holds no animosity towards Chelsea manager Antonio Conte as he prepares to complete his return to Atletico Madrid.

Chelsea announced on Thursday that they had agreed to sell the Spain international back to Atletico for a fee understood to be over £50m, subject to personal terms and a medical.

Costa was deemed surplus to requirements by Conte in the summer, despite scoring 20 goals in 35 appearances last season as Chelsea cruised to the Premier League title.

The 28-year-old refused to return to Chelsea’s Cobham training base in August having failed to secure a move away from Stamford Bridge and instead remained in Brazil in the hope that Atletico could strike a deal with the Blues.

When asked in Sao Paulo if he was upset at the way Conte had treated him, Costa told Splash News: “There’s nothing of the sort there, I’m not upset with anybody, I have no bitterness towards anyone. Everything is cool.”

Asked if he had a message for the Chelsea fans, he added: “Everybody knows how much I love the fans.”

Atletico had failed to push through the move before the summer transfer deadline, safe in the knowledge that Costa would not be able to play for them until January due to the club’s transfer ban.

Costa has not played for 98 days since he appeared for Spain in a World Cup Qualifier against Macedonia in June.

He spent four years at Atletico before joining Chelsea in July 2014 after they met his £32m buy-out clause.

Costa went on to score 59 goals in 120 matches during his time with Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles and one League Cup.

-Skysports