19 moments that define Diego Costa’s rollercoaster relationship with Chelsea

Feeling Blue | Costa's rollercoaster relationship with Chelsea
Michael Regan/Getty Images
Vaishali Bhardwaj22 September 2017

Over nine months of speculation appears to be coming to an end with the news that Chelsea have agreed a deal for Diego Costa to return to Atletico Madrid.

The Spain international has been AWOL after being deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge, while his relationship with the club and manager Antonio Conte has grown increasingly toxic.

Costa has been in his native Brazil for nearly seven weeks in an attempt to force through a return to Atletico Madrid, from whom he joined from in 2014, and he recently said he thought it was “disrespectful” that Chelsea boss had texted him to inform him that he was no longer wanted.

After the clubs failed to reach an agreement before the respective deadlines in England and Spain, Costa was named in Chelsea’s Premier League squad for the 2017-18 season.

Costa will leave Chelsea in the new year boasting the outstanding Premier League record of scoring 52 goals and providing 16 assists in 89 appearances – winning two titles in the process.

Here are 19 moments that define Diego Costa’s rollercoaster relationship with Chelsea...

No. 1

Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Clive Rose/Getty Images

30 April 2014

Diego Costa makes himself known to the Stamford Bridge faithful after scoring in Atletico Madrid's 3-1 win over Chelsea to book Los Rojiblancos' place in the Champions League final.

No. 2

Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

15 July 2014

Chelsea confirm the signing of Costa on a five-year deal for a fee of £32m. Upon completing his move to the Blues, Costa says: "I am very happy to sign for Chelsea. Everybody knows it is a big club in a very competitive league and I am very excited to get started in England."

No. 3

Photo: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

18 August 2014

No. 4

Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

12 September 2014

After scoring four top-flight goals in his first three matches, Costa is named the Premier League Player of the Month for August.

No. 5

Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

28 January 2015

Costa is charged by the FA for violent conduct after appearing to stamp on Liverpool's Emre Can during Chelsea's 1-0 win in the League Cup semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge. After denying the FA's charge, Costa is banned for three matches.

No. 6

Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

1 March 2015

No. 7

Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

24 May 2015

Costa wins his first Premier league title. He would also be included in the PFA Team of the Year alongside five other Chelsea teammates.

In pictures: Chelsea celebrate title triumph

1/8

No. 8

Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

19 September 2015

Costa is involved in an incident with Laurent Koscielny against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge which ends in Gabriel being sent off. Arsene Wenger later calls Costa's actions "disgusting".

No. 9

Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
(OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)

22 September 2015

Costa is retrospectively banned by the FA for violent conduct and handed another three-game ban.

No. 10

Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

29 November 2015

Costa is seen throwing his bib toward Jose Mourinho after the then-Chelsea manager chooses not to bring the striker on against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

No. 11

Photo: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

12 March 2016

Costa is embroiled in a biting controversy during a confrontation with Gareth Barry at Goodison Park. The striker is sent off as Chelsea lose the FA Cup quarter-final game 2-0. After Barry says no contact was made, Costa has his two-game ban extended for a further match and is fined £20,000.

No. 12

Photo: Getty Images

2 May 2016

Another game, another controversy. This time, though, Costa is victim of an eye-gouge from Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele during an ill-tempered match in which Chelsea ended their rivals title chances, securing the championship for Leicester City with a 2-2 draw.

No. 13

13 January 2017

The Brazilian-born Spain international is left out of Conte's line-up for the Premier League trip to Leicester after a training-ground row with Conte and amid a huge offer from Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian.

No. 14

Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

22 January 2017

Costa is restored to Conte's line-up for the home match against Hull and goes on to score his 52nd goal on his 100th Chelsea appearance. Conte later says: "It was important Diego played a good game, and I hope with this game to finish the speculation about him, about me and him, about Chelsea."

No. 15

Photo: AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

8 May 2017

Costa scores his 20th Premier League goal as Chelsea condemn Middlesbrough to relegation following a 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge. In doing so, Costa becomes only the third player to score 20 or more goals in a Premier League season for Chelsea on two occasions after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Didier Drogba.

No. 16

12 May 2017

Costa wins his second Premier League title with Chelsea. Following the victory at West Brom, the striker – along with team-mate David Luiz – try to kidnap Conte during his press conference in order to continue their title party.

No. 17

8 June 2017

Costa tells reporters while on international duty that Conte informed him he is no longer wanted at Chelsea via a text. The following month he would be filmed, partying, while wearing an Atletico Madrid shirt.

No. 18

13 August 2017

Costa criticises Conte and Chelsea in an interview with the Daily Mail. The striker says he feels he's been treated like a "criminal" and accuses Conte of lacking charisma.

No. 19

Photo: PA
PA

1 September 2017

The Spanish transfer window slams shut. With Atletico and Chelsea unable to reach an agreement, AWOL Costa is subsequently named in the club’s 25-man Premier League squad.

Only time will tell how this continues to play out.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in