Antonio Conte has thanked Diego Costa for his time at Chelsea but steered clear of paying him a warm tribute ahead of his move to Atletico Madrid.
The pair fell out spectacularly during Chelsea’s title winning campaign last season and Conte was reluctant to be drawn on the subject on Friday.
With Costa travelling from Brazil to Spain to finalise his return to Atletico, Conte said: ‘I think that, about this issue, we want to thank him for what he did with this club. We wish him all the best for the future.’
When pushed for further comments, he said: ‘I think now it’s not important. I’m not interested to continue talking about this issue. I’m working with my players, I’m very happy to work with these players. Now it’s not important.
‘I repeat now: I’m not interested to talk about the past. I think the past is not important. For every player, for every single player, the past stay there. If you did well in the past, okay.
‘We have to see, to work for the present and above all for the future.
‘Don’t forget we won together last season. I repeat: for sure we want to thank him for his effort last season with us. Not only last season but in the period that he played for Chelsea.’
Costa will arrive in Spain on Friday to finalise the formalities of a £55m deal, which will be completed in January, once Atletico’s transfer ban is lifted.
Chelsea, meanwhile, face Stoke in the Premier League, with Conte ruling Tiemoue Bakayoko fit after a minor car crash near the club’s Cobham training base.
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