Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was asked for his thoughts on Diego Costa’s latest comments on the club-player impasse. When he heard a reporter say Costa felt he was being treated like a criminal, Conte lost his composure and began laughing.
Conte spent a good 20 seconds giggling during the question before responding, saying “I can tell you that everyone who was in Chelsea knows what happened last season with Diego.
“I’m not interested to continue this issue.”
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Have to show this again. I've watched more press conferences than I can count and this is one of the best reactions I've ever seen. pic.twitter.com/cPkUJDRu8L
— Over Under Initiative (@OverUnderPlay) August 18, 2017
Diego Costa has held out from Chelsea training to stay in his native Brazil after being told to train with the reserves ahead of the 2017-2018 Premier League season. Costa has made clear his desire to leave Chelsea for a return to Atletico Madrid, but Costa claims that Chelsea are asking for an absurd transfer fee, which prices Atleti out of the market.
[ Costa: Chelsea “won’t decide my fate”]
It’s unclear as to what’s next in the transfer saga, but it’s looking more and more likely that it will come down to the final hours of the transfer window. Complicating matters is that Costa’s preferred destination, Atletico Madrid, is banned from signing players during this transfer window and can’t add new pieces until January.