Diego Costa’s representative has passed a scathing judgement on Antonio Conte’s handling of the Chelsea striker and has revealed that the Spaniard will be issuing a formal transfer request.
The Chelsea boss and the striker fell out at the end of the season and Costa later revealed that the Italian has informed him that he is no longer part of his plans going forward.
The striker is keen to return to Atletico Madrid this summer and his representative, Ricardo Cardoso, revealed that his client is going to slap in a transfer request to get the wheels moving on a move to Spain.
Cardoso reserved some scathing criticism for Chelsea manager Conte and the way the Italian showed a lack of respect for the player by dismissing him through a message on the phone.
And he feels Chelsea’s decision to offer him a new contract shows that the club support the manager’s behaviour and stressed that Costa cannot play for the Blues again under Conte.
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Cardoso told Spanish news agency EFE: “We are going to use all legal mechanisms to hold Chelsea accountable for his behaviour and make it possible for Diego Costa to leave. We will formally request a transfer.
“After three years at Atletico Madrid he moved to Chelsea where in three seasons, he won two league titles and was a key player in their success.
“When he was with the Spanish national team and before travelling to Brazil for his holidays he was dismissed from Chelsea through an SMS by Antonio Conte.
"Without any responsibility Chelsea said or it was understood that they would not be counting on their best goalscorer in his three years at the club.
“Of course the handling of it, the way it was done and the fact that it was made known to everyone represents unfair behaviour and a lack of respect towards the player, which was inexcusable on the part of coach Antonio Conte.
“It has not been denied by the coach in public or in private and in renewing his contract, they proved that they agree with his handling of Diego Costa and way it was done.
“This discriminatory behaviour makes it impossible for Diego Costa to return to Chelsea while Antonio Conte remains coach and there is no condition for him to play for Chelsea.
"This has been communicated several times to those who are responsible.”
And despite interest from clubs such as AC Milan, Costa’s representative has made it clear that his client only wants to join Atletico Madrid.
“At the moment he doesn’t want to play for any club who are not Atletico Madrid, where he had success and above all was respected and considered a part of, even when he moved to Chelsea.”
