Just when everything looks happy and blissful surrounding Diego Costa, it all goes pear-shaped in an instant. The Chelsea striker has been left out of the squad by Antonio Conte for the English Premier League game against Leicester city after a row over his fitness with a potential move to China now being mooted.
Costa has been Chelsea's best attacking player this season, scoring 14 goals and looking like the mean machine that helped the Blues to the Premier League title a couple of seasons back.
However, trouble always seems to be around the corner when Costa is concerned.
Just when everything looked hunky dory, Costa and Conte have reportedly had a serious row, with the striker insisting he has a lower back problem, which has been the root cause of all the hamstring injuries he has picked up in the recent past.
However, Conte, going by the Chelsea fitness team's words, asked Costa to train as normal, whereas the Spain international wanted to rest this weekend and not play against Leicester.
Conte not happy at all
Conte, who does not take too kindly to players telling him what to do, subsequently got into an argument with Costa, with the player now reportedly considering his options as a result, with a switch to China a possibility. According to The Sun, Conte even yelled at Costa, "go to China then."
Lucrative China deal
Costa's agent Jorge Mendes was in China anyway and the striker has been the subject of a massive offer from an unnamed Chinese Super League club, according to The Guardian. The offer would give Costa a salary of £30million a year, a considerable increase from what he earns at Chelsea at the moment.
Chelsea, though, are determined to hold Costa to his contract, which only expires in 2019, but Conte did leave the 28 year old out of his squad for the Leicester trip. Asked if there are any issues with any player in his team, Conte was not exactly forthcoming.
"For my club, for my players, we solve our problem if there are problems," Conte said. "This is important. I have to check a couple of situations and then decide. I don't want to say exactly what and give an advantage to our opponent."
All fine now?
Costa, though, seemed to suggest all the hue and cry might just have been a storm in a teacup by taking to Instagram to cheer his team on. "Come on Chelsea," wrote Costa in his Instagram account.
