Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone admits that he wouldn’t have been able to sign Diego Costa had the striker not pushed for a transfer away from Chelsea.
The Spanish giants re-signed the Spain international earlier this month and the striker will be available to play for the club once the winter window opens on 1st January.
Costa's future at Chelsea went unresolved over the summer, despite the striker and manager Antonio Conte making it clear that they would not be able to work together again.
There were other clubs who were also interested in signing the 28-year-old, but he made it abundantly clear that he only wanted to return to Atletico Madrid and Simone admits without the striker’s efforts, the transfer wouldn’t have been possible.
The Atletico Madrid boss admits that the club would have struggled to sign a player of Costa’s quality because of budgetary constraints.
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“Costa would not be here had not made the effort to come here”, Simeone told Spanish radio station Cadena SER’s show El Larguero.
“Of the players that we could approach in a hierarchy, Diego Costa was the one we counted upon.
“We wouldn’t have been able to pay for a player of a higher or Costa’s quality.”
Costa scored 52 Premier League goals in 89 appearances for Chelsea and won two league titles in west London.
