Date published: Friday 12th February 2021 10:43 – Lewis Oldham
Diego Costa is closing in on a move to Brazillian outfit Palmeiras, despite being linked to Wolves in January, according to reports.
Costa returned to Atletico Madrid in 2010 after a short spell with Spanish rivals Valladolid. He enjoyed a brilliant couple of years for them between 2012 and 2014.
In that time, he netted 56 times from his 96 appearances in all competitions. During this stretch, Atletico won the La Liga and the Copa del Rey. They also finished as runners-up in the Champions League in 2013/14.
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The striker joined Chelsea that summer after they activated his £32m buy-out clause. His spell in England was mixed overall, but he did manage to score 59 times from his 120 appearances.
He was never shy to get involved in controversy while with the Blues. He famously had fallouts with Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte at Chelsea.
Costa still had a lot of success with them, though. He helped them win the Premier League twice as well as the League Cup.
The forward was told by Conte at the start of the 2017/18 season that he was not part of his plans. It was announced in September 2017 that Costa was set to rejoin Atletico Madrid.
The 32-year-old’s third spell with the Spanish giants has not gone as well, however. He has only managed to score 19 times from his 81 appearances. He did help them win the Europa League in 2017/18, though.
In December 2020, Atletico and Costa mutually agreed to terminate the Spaniard’s contract. He was linked with moves to Wolves and Manchester City in January, but this did not come to fruition.
Sky Sports have now reported, as cited by The Metro, that Costa is set to sign for Brazillian side Palmeiras. They add that the player will earn £2.6m per year with his new club.