Diego Costa hugs Antonio Conte’s brother and Chelsea stars in tunnel before Atletico Madrid clash
Sponsored by
DIEGO COSTA got a warm embrace from his former Chelsea colleagues ahead of their win at Atletico Madrid.
The striker - who is technically still under contract at Stamford Bridge - was spotted hanging around in the tunnel at the new Wanda Metropolitano ground, where he will be able to play in January.
Costa was told he has no future at Chelsea after having a falling out with Antonio Conte last season.
He was informed via text message that he would no longer have a place at the club.
But much of the ill feeling appeared like water under the bridge as Costa smiled and chatted with Chelsea staff in the bowels of the stadium.
An official announcement from Atletico Madrid is still expected - with Atleti still serving a transfer ban for breaching rules in their signing of young players.
And he hugged Conte's brother and assistant manager Gianluca, with Blues attacker Pedro also close by.
Davide Zappacosta was also close by ahead of the game, in pictures tweeted by TV presenter Reshmin Chowdhury.
CHELSEA NEWS
She said: "Diego Costa is here! In tunnel area a few mins ago. All smiles, hugs & chats with Chelsea players with Chelsea players on way to warm up & club staff #ATLCHE."
Chelsea went on to win the game 2-1, thanks to a thrilling finale where Michy Batshuayi scored in the dying seconds.
And Costa looked like he didn't know how to react, holding his head in his hands in a slightly awkward fashion.