Diego Costa and Miguel Angel Gil allegedly met up in Ibiza this summer shortly after the Chelsea striker revealed he’d welcome a return to Atletico Madrid.
Marca say Atleti were already close to signing Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto and that, combined with Chelsea’s reluctance to sell the Spain international meant a move back to Vicente Calderon was never likely.
The meeting between Costa and Atleti chief executive Gil was a co-incidence, the report adds, but when Gil heard Costa would leave Stamford Bridge for the Calderon, he spoke to agent Jorge Mendes about the situation.
Mendes downplayed Costa’s comments and confirmed Chelsea’s intention to keep Costa for the foreseeable future.
Marca do suggest, however, that Costa could look to leave Chelsea at the end of the current season in search of a ‘change of scenery.’
