- Diego Costa is set to return to Atletico Madrid, Chelsea have announced
- Striker Costa has been exiled from the Blues first team since the summer
- Now the deal taking the Spain forward back to his old club has been confirmed
- Spanish media claim Chelsea will receive a fee in the region of £53million
An agreement has been struck between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa.
The long-running saga looks to finally be coming to an end after Chelsea confirmed the impending switch on Thursday.
Costa, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Atleti in 2014, has been outcast by Blues boss Antonio Conte since the summer.
An agreement has been struck between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Costa
A Chelsea statement read: ‘Chelsea Football Club has today agreed terms with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa.
‘The transfer will be subject to the agreement of personal terms and a medical.’
According to Spanish newspaper AS, Costa, who cost Chelsea £32million, is expected to be unveiled as an Atletico player in the coming days.
A fee in the region of £53m plus bonuses is to be paid to the Premier League champions.
In a twist of fate, Chelsea and Atletico are due to meet in a Champions League meeting on Wednesday.
While Costa will not be able to feature for his new club until January, having been signed outside of a transfer window and therefore ineligible to be registered, he could potentially be shown off to fans inside the Wanda Metropolitano on the day the two clubs come together.
The striker has been involved in something of a stand-off with Chelsea since the summer, when he was told via text message by Conte that he was not in his plans.
Costa at first refused to return to training at Cobham, opting to remain in his native Brazil.
He accused Chelsea of treating him ‘like a criminal’ and refused to rule out legal action.
In an exclusive interview with Sportsmail in August, he said he will always keep Conte’s text message on his phone and claims the Chelsea manager ‘lacks charisma’. Costa also accuses Conte of blocking his contract negotiations in January.
More follows.