CHELSEA face taking a £10million hit on outcast Diego Costa.
The striker is furious at the ‘disrespect’ Blues boss Antonio Conte showed in dumping him by TEXT.
The Premier League champions will now struggle to recoup anywhere near the £32m they paid for the Spaniard three years ago after he publicly revealed he is no longer wanted at Stamford Bridge.
Former club Atletico Madrid are favourites to re-sign the fiery hitman despite a transfer ban.
The Spaniards are still able to buy players but not register them under a Fifa transfer embargo which runs until January.
Costa, 28, could sign for Atletico and go on loan until the New Year — with AC Milan up for a short-term deal.
Manchester United and Arsenal are also both on the hunt for a top hitman.
Costa is livid Conte did not tell him personally that he had no future at Stamford Bridge.
He declared: “I’m a Chelsea player but they do not want me there.
“Antonio Conte has told me by message that I do not follow at Chelsea and that’s it.
“Conte said he did not count on me for next season. My relationship with the coach has been bad this season.
“It’s a shame, I’ve already forwarded the message to Chelsea people to decide.”
Costa hit 22 goals last term to fire Chelsea to a second title in his three years in London.
He added: “It seems I didn’t have a good season. It was just a simple message after all I’ve done for the club.
“But if he doesn’t want me there, then I will have to look for a new team.
“It would be nice to go back to Atletico Madrid but it’s difficult to be four or five months without playing. It’s a World Cup year and I need to play.”
Chelsea are disappointed their maverick star went public and there is no way back for him.
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The Blues are already set to re-sign their former hitman Romelu Lukaku from Everton in a deal that could cost £100m.
Ironically, Chelsea could have trousered £76m for Costa from Chinese outfit Tianjin Quanjian in the winter transfer window.
Costa has endured a fractious relationship with Conte ever since the demanding Italian took charge last summer.
Conte dropped Costa after he had a training- ground row with a club fitness coach in January and has been frustrated by the player’s relaxed lifestyle.
But the Spaniard has the backing of several team-mates who believe Conte should have told him in person that his Chelsea career was over.
Sources close to Chelsea say Costa had already made up his mind not to play for Conte again long before his bombshell announcement on Wednesday night.
The player still has two years left on his £180,000-a-week contract.
And since he has not asked for a transfer, Costa could still collect a whopping loyalty payment from Chelsea when he leaves.
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