Diego da Silva Costa (born 7 October 1988) is a professional footballer who last played for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team. Costa began his football career in his native Brazil before joining Braga in Portugal in 2006, aged 17. In 2014 Costa was transferred to Premier League club Chelsea in a deal worth €35 million. In 2018, following a rift with head coach Antonio Conte, Costa returned to Atletico Madrid in a club record transfer worth an initial €56 million. Costa is a dual citizen of Brazil and Spain.
About Diego Costa in brief
Diego da Silva Costa (born 7 October 1988) is a professional footballer who last played for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team. Costa began his football career in his native Brazil before joining Braga in Portugal in 2006, aged 17. Over the next two seasons he had loan periods with Braga, Celta Vigo and Albacete. His form earned him a move to fellow La Liga club Real Valladolid in 2009, where he spent one season, finishing as their top goalscorer. In 2014 Costa was transferred to Premier League club Chelsea in a deal worth €35 million. In London, Costa won three trophies, including two Premier League titles, and a League Cup. In 2018, following a rift with head coach Antonio Conte, Costa returned to Atletico Madrid in a club record transfer worth an initial €56 million. Costa is a dual citizen of Brazil and Spain. He played twice for Brazil in 2013, before declaring his desire to represent Spain, having been granted Spanish citizenship in September that year. His father named him in honour of Argentine footballer Diego Maradona despite the rivalry between the two nations. He has an elder brother named Jair after Brazilian player Jairzinho. Costa did not believe as a child that he would turn professional, in part due to the remote location of his hometown, and has since set up a football academy in his hometown. He is a fan of Palmeiras and Porto de Recreativo de Huelva, and once played for Porto in Portugal’s second division.
Costa has been criticised and punished for several confrontations with opponents, including one against Real Madrid in the Champions League in 2012. He was also sent off in the first game of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Costa’s father was apprehensive of sending his son to Europe, and suggested he instead sign for nearby Associação Desportiva São Caetano. He never turned professional, but had a three-month trial at Basque club Basque Salvatierra in February 2006. He turned professional at the club, earning around £100 per month, and competed in the under-18 Taça de São Paulo despite a four-month ban for slapping an opponent and dissent towards the referee. Before joining this team, he had never been coached in football. Costa initially struggled with the cold weather of northern Portugal and the comparatively lack of a youth team, and was loaned to Penafiel in the second division in the summer of 2006. In December 2006, Portugal’s former international Rui Bento, who desired Costa’s signature, admitted it was a risk for a “rough diamond” Costa remained on loan at Braga until the end of the season, but he remained on the club’s youth division. In 2011 he returned toAtlético with a greater role, and helped the team win a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey title and a UEFA Super Cup. He has since won 24 caps and scored 10 goals for Spain.
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This page is based on the article Diego Costa published in Wikipedia (as of Jan. 03, 2021) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
