Advertisement

Antonio Conte thanks Diego Costa ‘for all he did’ but Chelsea boss won’t be drawn on their fractious relationship

Happier times | Antonio Conte and Diego Costa: Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Happier times | Antonio Conte and Diego Costa: Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Antonio Conte put his fall-out with Diego Costa in the past by thanking the striker for his contribution to Chelsea.

Costa has travelled from Brazil to Madrid to complete a £57.2m return to Atletico Madrid having been on strike in his homeland for the last two months.

Conte grew frustrated after the striker made it clear he wanted to leave last summer and then again in January.

Costa claimed he was first informed he was no longer wanted by Conte in June via a text message, but the Chelsea coach insisted the Spain international was told at the start of the year.

Costa scored 52 League goals in three years at Chelsea, helping them win the title in 2015 and in Conte's debut campaign last term.

And Conte said: "About this issue, we want to thank him for what he did for this club, we wish him all the best for the future.

"Don't forget we win together (as a squad) last season. I repeat for sure we want to thank him for his effort with us, not only last season but the whole period he played for Chelsea."

The Italian didn't want to go into detail about how his relationship soured when questioned by the media this afternoon.

When asked about how bad things got between them, he added: "I think now it's not important. I'm not interested to continue talking about this issue.

"I'm working with my players, I'm very happy to work with these players. Now it's not important."

Despite the seriousness of the fall-out, which saw Costa's lawyer threaten legal action and the player complain about being treated 'like a criminal', Conte insists it was never a distraction.

"I think my team we always focused on work, on the pitch, to be focused on our work," he said "This is very important. We have to continue what we did in the past. We were very focused only on the pitch."

Chelsea had already replaced Costa by buying Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid for an initial £58m, but his sale to Atletico, subject to a medical and agreeing personal terms, will guarantee more games for second choice frontman Michy Batshuayi.

The Belgium international has been a fringe player since joining from Marseille for £33.1m in 2016.

He scored a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Nottingham Forest in midweek and Conte said: "Batshuayi is one of the players in our squad. Last season he didn't play a lot. After one year I think he worked very hard last season to be prepared to face this League, the challenge with Chelsea. For sure he will have the right chance to help us."