Diego Costa Chelsea move could be off after Monaco come in with big money deal

French side readying £40million bid and the lure of tax-free wages

Marc Williams
Monday 07 April 2014 09:31 BST
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Diego Costa celebrates scoring for Spain’s league leaders Atletico Madrid
Diego Costa celebrates scoring for Spain’s league leaders Atletico Madrid (EPA)

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Any chance of Diego Costa’s apparent move to Chelsea in the summer could be off with French side Monaco believed to be readying a £40million bid for the striker.

The deal from Monaco is also likely to entice Costa away from a move to England with the Ligue 1 side preparing to offer a tax-free salary in the region of £150,000 a week for his services.

The 25-year-old striker, who has scored 25 league goals so far this season, is understood to be Blues’ manager Jose Mourinho’s man target when the transfer market reopens come the end of the season.

Monaco have piped Chelsea to signing key players in the past. Last summer Chelsea missed out on signing Radamel Falcao from Atlético Madrid when the French millionaires had a reported bid of €60million accepted for the Colombian forward.

Chelsea may still hold the upper hand when trying to sign Costa from the current La Liga leaders with Mourinho and the centre forward having the same agent, Jorge Mendes.

Mendes has however also formed a good relationship with Monaco chairman, Russian oligarch, Dmitry Rybolovlev and the promise of tax free wages could be the key factor in Costa’s decision.

The striker has a £32million buyout clause in his contract and is expected to follow Falcao in a move away from Madrid this summer.

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