Chelsea confirm Diego Costa sale to Atletico Madrid

Chelsea have confirmed that they have finalised a deal to sell striker Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid, with the final fee believed to be in the region of £60m.

Costa made it clear that he would only leave Chelsea for his former club Atletico Madrid this summer and now the move has been confirmed, just a few hours before the two clubs are set to meet in a Champions League clash in Spain.

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Costa joined Chelsea in the summer of 2015 for £32m and went on to score 59 goals in 120 games for Chelsea, twice playing a huge role in their Premier League title triumphs.

Yet his relationship with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte collapsed mid-way through last season, when he pushed to make a move to China’s Super League at a crucial moment in the Blues push for the Premier League title.

Conte vowed to off-load Costa after that incident and confirmed his intentions via a text message, sparkling a stand-off between the player and his employer as he refused to return to training at the Blues Cobham training base.

Now Conte has insisted he has no lingering animosity towards Costa and has vowed to shake his hand if he sees him at the game that will be played at Atletico’s magnificent new Wanda Metropolitano.

“I have no problem with Diego Costa. I said that we wish him the best for the future. We want to thank him for the last season. But, I repeat, I have no problem with him,” confirmed Conte.

Costa will train with his new Ateltico Madrid team-mates for the next three months and he will be eligible to play for the club when their transfer embargo is lifted on January 1^st.

His arrival will fuel rumours that Ateltico Madrid are already spending some of the money they will receive for the transfer of Antoine Griezmann, with the France striker continuing to be strongly linked with a move to Manchester United.