Diego Costa and Atletico Madrid is a love story which should have a happy ending, even if both parties will be forced to wait for a denouement under a Madrid sunset.
Chelsea have been unwilling to sell the Spain striker back to Atletico at a cut price this summer, holding out for a fat £50 million fee, despite Costa’s one-man revolt. Or perhaps, because of it.
Atletico have found Chelsea difficult to negotiate with, with the Blues unwilling to give Costa what he wants after he flew to Brazil in an almighty huff and has shown no inclination of returning to train with the reserves.
Images of Costa diffused on social media in his natural homeland appeared to show him overweight, although he has begun to train individually.
However even if the 28-year-old, who has been ‘missing’ for two months was behaving well and a deal was sealed, he would have to go on loan for six months before playing again for Atletico, owing to the club’s FIFA ban on registering players.
The same occurred with Vitolo, whom Atletico signed in controversial fashion from Sevilla, and then parked at Las Palmas until January.
Chelsea and Atletico are Champions League rivals in Group C but thanks to the Spanish side’s ban, Costa’s future was not impacted by the draw.
Costa’s team-mate for club and country Cesar Azpilicueta told La Gazetta dello Sport: “I hope the situation can be resolved. It's an issue between the club and the player and, no, I've not acted as intermediary.
“It's something they need to sort out between themselves and let's see what happens after the market has closed.”
The defender’s words implied that Costa would not be leave Stamford Bridge permanently until January at the earliest.
The wound between Costa and Chelsea coach Antonio Conte seems too deep to be plastered over, even if the Blues would benefit from the striker's services in the coming months after failing to secure strong back-up for Alvaro Morata.
After the striker was named in the Blues' Premier League squad, an ideal situation for both parties would be Costa returning and potentially playing a role until January, when he could sign for his beloved Atletico, if he can make peace with Conte.
That is unlikely to happen, however, and instead we can expect the war to continue until eventually Atletico and Chelsea strike a deal for Costa—and heart-shaped fireworks explode over the Wanda Metropolitano.