Chelsea news: Diego Costa enjoys reunion with former manager Diego Simeone

The Chelsea striker met up with his old mentor in Spain while on international duty for upcoming clash with Macedonia

Charlie Doris
Tuesday 08 November 2016 15:49 GMT
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Costa and Simeone won La Liga and took Atletico Madrid to a Champions League final during his time at the club
Costa and Simeone won La Liga and took Atletico Madrid to a Champions League final during his time at the club (getty)

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Diego Costa caught up with his former boss Diego Simeone over a cosy dinner date while in Spain for international duty on Monday.

Chelsea’s in-form striker was all smiles when pictured alongside Simeone on the striker’s Instagram account with the caption ‘Great memories, great friends’.

But don’t worry Chelsea fans, this rendezvous seems merely a friendly visit from the big forward, who was in town to feature for Spain in their upcoming World Cup qualifier against Macedonia.

Costa and Simeone worked closely together for three seasons at Atletico Madrid and the 28-year-old did sensationally reveal this summer that he tried to push for a move back to the Spanish capital following a troubled campaign at Stamford Bridge.

"I wished I could go back to Atletico, I'm not going to lie," Costa told Spanish television.

"I had the chance to go back but I couldn't, because of a few details. I'm grateful to the people at Atletico, to Cholo [Simeone] especially, who has always put his confidence in me."

However, the powerful striker decided to snub his former manager and have another crack at the Premier League title with Chelsea’s new manager, Antonio Conte, and it seems to have paid dividends.

Costa is currently the Premier League’s top goal scorer with nine goals, the latest coming in Chelsea’s emphatic 5-0 victory over Everton on Saturday.

The Brazilian-born hitman is back to his best under Conte and his impervious form has been rewarded with a deserved recall to the Spain squad.

Costa was omitted from Vicente Del Bosque’s Euro 2016 squad after a poor season with Chelsea who finished 10th in the Premier League with the former Atletico forward leading the line.

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