Diego Costa still has Spain on his mind
DIEGO Costa has left the door open for a move back to Atletico Madrid, despite only winning his place back in Chelsea’s starting lineup in their Champions League win over Porto this week.
Costa has been in terrible form this season and has scored seven goals since January, but he returned to manager José Mourinho’s team for the midweek tie.
Mourinho had encouraging words for him, despite the fact that the striker squandered two good opportunities to score, but may not be happy to hear that the 27-year-old has refused to rule out moving back to Spain.
Costa held interviews with the Portuguese and Spanish press after Chelsea’s success against FC Porto and was asked whether he would be keen on a return to Atletico Madrid, the club Chelsea signed him from in 2014.
Having seen his friend Filipe Luis move back to Atletico after one season at Chelsea, he said: “You never know [about a return to Atletico], look how well Filipe Luis is doing now.
“Life is full of surprises — I always wish Atletico the best and I always follow them and support them . . .”
While Costa has been happy at Chelsea, he has struggled to adapt to life in England and is going through a crisis of confidence in front of goal.
He was left on the bench against Tottenham Hotspur, when he tossed a bib in the direction of Mourinho.
“The bib incident is in the past,” said Costa.
“I made a mistake, but my relationship with Mourinho is amazing and we get on really well.
“There are things you need to control, but the bib thing was an impulse. I have to improve a bit.
“The truth is Chelsea haven’t been in a great moment, above all losing the other day at home [against Bournemouth]. So it was important to win [against Porto] to make the fans happy and to recover our confidence.” — ©