Diego Costa has said that he did “everything possible” to return to Atletico Madrid last summer but was forced to crawl back to Chelsea with his “tail between my legs” when the La Liga team did not make a big enough effort to re-sign him.

The striker has enjoyed a fine season, scoring 17 times for Antonio Conte’s Premier League leaders, but has previously made no secret of his desire to return to Atletico, where he spent four seasons before moving to London.

“I did everything possible to return to Atletico. I won’t fight like that to return again,” Costa told the Spanish radio programme El Larguero. “When Atletico had to wait for me they didn’t. I had to go to Conte with my