Antonio Conte Insists Diego Costa Is not Returning Back to Chelsea

Antonio Conte remains adamant Diego Costa‘s Chelsea career is finished. The Brazilian-born striker spearheaded Chelsea’s title-winning campaign last season weighing in with 20 Premier League goals, despite enduring a fractious relationship with his manager. Conte and Costa were reportedly involved in a training ground bust-up back in January that resulted in the 28-year-old being axed from the squad ahead of a match at Leicester.

The pair temporarily patched up their differences for the remainder of the season but Costa revealed on international duty that his Chelsea career had been terminated after receiving a text message from Conte which reportedly read ‘Hi Diego, I hope you are well. Thanks for the seasono [sic] we spent together. Good luck for the next year but you are not in my plan.’

Chelsea have since agreed terms with Real Madrid over a deal for Costa’s international teammate Alvaro Morata and Conte insists there is no way back.

‘I don’t to like to talk about players that don’t stay here,’ he said ahead of Saturday’s friendly against Premier League rivals Arsenal in Beijing.

‘Generally the Costa situation for him was clear for him and his agent, for me the situation is closed.’

Costa is not part of the Chelsea squad that has traveled for the Far East and reportedly has his heart set on a return to Atletico Madrid, despite his former club having been banned from making any new signings until January.

Credit: Metro

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