Premier League champions Chelsea are set to take a £10million hit on out-of-favour striker Diego Costa.
Antonio Conte told Costa that he is not wanted at Chelsea next season and the Spanish striker is furious at the lack of respect the Blues boss showed by snubbing him by TEXT.
It is believed that Chelsea will face an uphill task in recovering the £32m they splurged for roping in Costa three years ago after he publicly disclosed that he is no more in Conte’s plans for the next season.
Former club Atletico Madrid are in pole position to re-sign the Spanish striker despite being hit with a transfer ban.
The La Liga club can still buy new players but they cannot register them due to a Fifa transfer embargo which will end in January.
Costa could opt for a move to Atletico and then move on loan until the new year – with AC Milan keen on roping him in on a short-term deal.
FootTheBall sources reveal that Manchester United and Arsenal have also shown interest in the out-of-favour Chelsea hit-man.
Costa told the reporters after Spain’s friendly clash with Colombia on Wednesday night – that he is not wanted at Chelsea anymore.
He declared: “I’m a Chelsea player but they do not want me there.”
“Antonio Conte has told me by message that I do not follow at Chelsea and that’s it.”
“Conte said he did not count on me for next season. My relationship with the coach has been bad this season.”
“It’s a shame, I’ve already forwarded the message to Chelsea people to decide.”
Costa displayed incredible form with 20 goals to his name in the Premier League as the Blues were crowned champions in Conte’s debut campaign in England.
He added: “It seems I didn’t have a good season. It was just a simple message after all I’ve done for the club.”
“But if he doesn’t want me there, then I will have to look for a new team.”
“It would be nice to go back to Atletico Madrid but it’s difficult to be four or five months without playing. It’s a World Cup year and I need to play.”
The Chelsea bosses are not happy with Costa after he went public and now it is understood that there is no way back for him to make peace with the London club.
Chelsea are now keen on roping in Everton contract rebel Romelu Lukakau to replace Costa but the Blues hierarchy would have to splurge a world record £100million in order to land the Belgian at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues could have easily raked in £76m by selling Costa to Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian in the winter transfer window.
But now it seems very difficult as the Spanish striker went public to reveal that he is not wanted at Chelsea.
Costa has been under the radar of Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian and the Spanish striker was believed to be unhappy after Chelsea had blocked a mega offer from Chinese club in January.
The Chelsea hierarchy were keen on offering Costa a new deal before Christamas, but that was stalled after the Spaniard had a bust-up with Antonio Conte in January.
The Spanish star has the backing of several Blues stars who believe that Conte should have informed him in person that he is no more in his plans at Chelsea.
Costa still has two years left on his current £180,000-a-week contract.
And as he has not filed in a transfer request, he could still pocket a mammoth loyalty payment from the Blues when he leaves.