Reports: Chelsea star rejected £66.4 million move in the summer
What’s the story?
Everton were keen on signing a striker in the summer and were ready break the bank. The striker Ronald Koeman wanted to sign was Chelsea's wantaway man, Diego Costa.
The Toffees tabled a £66.4 million bid for Spaniard according to MARCA. Chelsea were happy with the offer they received and reportedly accepted the bid.
Costa, however, was not interested in moving to the Merseyside club and rejected the move. The striker who was AWOL last month only wanted to move back to Atletico Madrid and was reluctant to even hold talks with the Toffees.
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In case you didn’t know...
Costa's move back to Atletico was finally made official last week after the Spanish club reportedly agreed a £57 million deal with Chelsea. Costa was present at the Wanda Metropolitano when his new club took on Sevilla over the weekend.
The Spaniard cannot play for them for another 3 months as they will only be able to register him in January. They had a transfer ban imposed on them during the summer transfer window and now the registration cannot be done until the January window opens.
The heart of the matter
Reports in Marca and Mirror claim that Diego Costa was a subject of a massive bid from Everton. he would have been their record signing for £66.4 million and would have been a regular in the starting XI.
Costa rejected the move as he only wanted to head back to Atletico Madrid and did not even hold talks with Everton. Ronaldo Koeman was the one forcing the Toffees board to make the move as per the reports.
Also read: 5 players who rejected Chelsea this summer
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Author’s Take
Diego Costa would have been a brilliant signing for Everton but paying £66.4 million would have been too much for them. They will not make into the Champions League next season for sure as there are already 6 top teams fighting for the 4 spots.
They might have been penalised by UEFA for breaching the Financial Fair Play rules and it would have a disaster for them. Not signing Costa might actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Toffees.
Also read: Diego Costa: The villain who plays victim