Diego Costa asks to leave Atlético Madrid

The controversial Brazilian-Hispanic striker, Diego Costa has asked the rojiblanco club to leave as a free agent in order to look for a team where he can play regularly.

Born and raised in Lagarto, Brazil (hence his nickname “El Lagarto” or “The Lizard”), Diego Costa began playing football professionally at the age of 16. Until that age he only played on the streets of his city. In 2006, a scout for SC Braga, decided to bet on him and they took him to Portugal.

The following year Diego Costa was signed by Atlético Madrid and began a series of loan deals that came to an end when Diego Costa coincided with manager Diego Simeone and a perfect synergy was born, leading the striker to take full advantage of his qualities. In 2014, he was transferred to Chelsea FC where he left a good scoring record during the three seasons in London.

In 2017, Diego Costa returned to the Spanish club where he has remained until today. His role in the club coached by Diego Simeone has been progressively diminishing to the point that Diego Costa himself has asked the Spanish club to terminate his contract. The player’s intention is to have the freedom to find an important contract with a European club, considering that he is already 32 years old and he might be in his last years of football at top level as well as being able to play on a regular basis.

For its part, Atlético Madrid has started the search for a replacement for Diego Costa, knowing that the striker’s departure is imminent. The names that have been brought up the most are Milik from SSC Napoli, an old desire of Simeone, Maxi Gómez from Valencia CF, Raúl De Tomas from RCD Espanyol or Cedric Bakambu who is playing in China. In any case, Atlético Madrid would be looking for a loan deal rather than a permanent transfer.