Former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa has signed a new contract with Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro, ending his eight-month spell without a club. The Spanish international forward left Atletico Madrid in December after asking the club to terminate his contract with the club.
It was his second spell at the La Liga side, but he fell out of favour after rejoining from Chelsea in 2017. Diego Costa’s new club Atletico Mineiro are five points clear at the top of Brazil’s Serie A. The player who was born and raised in Brazil has now returned to his home side.
Costa played two friendlies for Brazil in March 2013, before granting Spanish nationality, and declared he wanted to play international football with Spain later that year. He won two Premier League titles during his three-season stint with Chelsea, scoring 59 goals in 120 games.
But his spell ended in a bad way for the player as the then head coach Antonio Conte told him via text message that he was not part of his plans for the following season. Costa refused to return to Chelsea from his home in Brazil after being told to train with the reserves and was later sold back to Atletico Madrid.
Injuries limited him to just 43 league starts in three years, during which time he scored just 12 goals, and he asked to leave the club “for personal reasons”.