‘I was wrong going to Chelsea – I knew what to do after they told me to go with reserves’
Two larger than life characters – Diego Costa and Antonio Conte – came together to win a Premier League title in the manager’s first season at Chelsea, but their relationship rapidly deteriorated
There are dozens of reasons why Diego Costa is still loved at Stamford Bridge by the Chelsea faithful.
From 2014 to 2017, there was never a dull moment when the Brazilian-born striker took to the field for the Blues. He scored goals for fun, roughed up opponents (even biting Gareth Barry on one occasion), and played an integral role in two Premier League-winning seasons.
The second of those title wins came in his final season in west London amid growing tensions between the maverick No. 19 and his manager, Antonio Conte, as the Spain international became increasingly interested in leaving. He was Chelsea’s top scorer that season with 20 league goals in 35 appearances, but a bitter row between the pair saw him exiled from the squad in the summer of 2017, before re-joining his beloved former club Atletico Madrid.
A year after his departure, in September 2018, Costa admitted he should not have joined Chelsea in the first place, pointing to Conte’s abrasive management style. He told Marca: “I was wrong going to Chelsea, because of their way of dealing with things. Cholo [Atletico coach Diego Simeone] is a direct coach, and when he doesn’t love you, it’s clear and he shows it.
“At Chelsea it was the opposite. I had the option of returning to Atleti and when Chelsea told me to go back to training with the reserves, I was clear that I was going back to Atletico, even though there were other offers.”
Problems between Costa and Chelsea first surfaced in early 2017 when he was left out of the side for an away match at Leicester, despite being their best player with 14 Premier League goals until that point. That was down to a dispute with a fitness coach about how to handle his back pain, with frustrations spilling over into a furious row with Conte.
