Diego Costa: ‘Chelsea have treated me like a criminal’

Diego Costa says Chelsea have treated him like a ‘criminal’, before revealing he wants to join Atletico Madrid this summer.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, the Spain international opened up about his derailing Blues career in his family home back in Brazil.

The 28-year-old; who has scored 58 goals in 120 appearances in all competitions for the defending Premier League champions overall, winning two league titles and the League Cup, is surplus to requirements this season after being told he was not part of Antonio Conte’s plans earlier this summer – by text!

With Costa’s Chelsea career seemingly over, ans whilst watching his team-mates suffer a 3-2 defeat to Burnley on the opening weekend of the 2017-18 Premier League campaign, the striker admitted he feels he has been treated ‘like a criminal’ by the club and is hopeful of securing a move back to Atletico Madrid before the close of the transfer window.

The Brazil-born star said, “The manager doesn’t want me.

“I am waiting for Chelsea to set me free. I didn’t want to leave. I was happy. When the manager does not want you, you have to go.

“If you were to ask all my team-mates, they’d say the same. They send messages saying “I miss you” and that they love me.

“They [the club] want me to be there training with the reserves. I wouldn’t be allowed access to the first-team dressing room and I would have no contact at all with the guys.

“I’m not a criminal! I don’t think it is fair after all I have done to be treated like that.”

Costa netted 22 goals in 42 games in all competitions for Chelsea last term, and the Spain international was Conte’s first-choice hitman for the whole 2016-17 campaign, but it seems thing went wrong for the forward back in the New Year.

“In January, things happened with the coach,” Costa added.

“I was on the brink of renewing my contract and they put the brakes on it. I suspect the manager was behind it. He asked for that to happen.

“His ideas are very fixed and clear. I have seen the sort of person he is. He has his own opinion and that will not change.

“I respect him as a great coach. He has done a good job and I can see that, but as a person, no. He is not a coach who is very close with his players.

“He is very distant. He doesn’t possess charisma.”

Then in early June, reports emerged of Conte’s damning text message to Costa, saying, ‘Hi Diego, I hope you are well. Thanks for the season we spent together. Good luck for the next year but you are not in my plan’.

Costa commented further, “I was with the Spain national team, alone in my room, when it came through.

“It was a shock to get it like that. I was showing it to my team-mates and they could not believe how he had done it.

“There are ways of going about it. You don’t do it by text message. You should be honest and direct to someone’s face.

“I was angry at the time. Now I am more calm. I have not deleted the message.

“If people accuse me of lying, I can show them. It was clear, saying that he didn’t count on me and wishing me the best for the future. Full stop.”

And finally; with his spell at Stamford Bridge destined to come to a crashing end, Costa spoke about his near future, insisting he is pushing for a move back to La Liga, “My desire is to go to Atletico.

“I’ve spoken to Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia. I said, “If the manager doesn’t want me, I want to go to Atletico Madrid”.

“I have rejected other offers. They want to sell me to China or other teams. The language is better for me in Spain.

“If I’m off, I’m going to the club I want to go to — not the club that’s paying the most.

“Diego Simeone [Atletico Madrid manager] wants me. It is very clear. I have always had a bond with him.

“The fans and people love me there. They respect me.”