Diego Costa invited Sportsmail into his family home to talk about his future and his falling out with Antonio Conte at Chelsea.
The Costa family home features many memories for the striker, with many of his individual awards on display, along with photos from his playing days.
These include his PFA team of the year awards, a selection of player of the month gongs, and even a miniature Big Ben.
Diego Costa’s family home features many of his individual footballing awards on display
The family living room contains photos from his career at Chelsea and Atletico Madrid
Costa spoke exclusively to Sportsmail’s Adam Crafton about his footballing future
DIEGO COSTA SPEAKS TO SPORTSMAIL
Why he will always keep the text from Antonio Conte saying he is not wanted at Chelsea
‘Jose Mourinho called me this summer’
Why he will only move to Atletico Madrid… and whether he will take legal action against the Blues
‘Chelsea players send me messages saying “We miss you”‘
His claims Antonio Conte lacks charisma and is very distant
Costa says, despite his refusal to return to Stamford Bridge for this season, that he remains close to the Blues players and grateful to his fans.
This is demonstrated by the presence of several reminders of his best days as a player at Chelsea, who he fired to the Premier League title twice in the last three years.
Costa was named PFA Player of the Year in 2014-15, and that award sits in prime position in his trophy shelf, in front of a doll of him in Chelsea kit.
There is also a player of the month trophy for the Premier League, along with one from La Liga and his Atletico Madrid days.
The most significant trophy on the shelf is a large cup received from Spanish newspaper Marca, given to La Liga’s top Spanish scorer.
While Costa has an emotional connection to Chelsea, a playing return still seems remote
There are several other reminders of his Atletico career in photos of him around the TV, along with one of him and brother Jair as children.
Costa has said he is only interested in joining Atletico Madrid if he leaves Chelsea, the club he represented between 2010 and 2014.
However it is to London that Costa’s honours seem to be most closely wedded, with a small statue of the Elizabeth Tower, more colloquially known as Big Ben.
This love of the English capital may give Chelsea fans hope there could be a way back to Stamford Bridge for the prolific goalscorer.
However, while Conte remains manager of the Blues, any sort of return still seems very unlikely.
source: dailymail.co.uk
