Diego Costa claims he wasn’t at fault for the infamous fall-out with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte that led to him failing to secure a spot in Spain’s squad for the World Cup in the summer.
The Spaniard went AWOL last summer after a major banter with boss Antonio Conte and lost favor at the club leading to his exile in Brazil. Their dispute lasted the entire summer last year, before later sealing a move to Atletico Madrid.
That cost him playing regular competitive games under any conditions as he was not named for Chelsea’s season and Atletico’s, and he admitted he knew the consequences.
After his recent call up from 2010 World Cup champions squad for their friendlies this month, Costa says he is working at making the World Cup in the summer.
“It is very clear that it was not my fault that I was in Brazil. We all know what happened there but I’m back now and I want to do my best.
The coach (Julen Lopetegui) was always very clear with me that if I was not playing then it would be impossible for me to be called up. But he also said that if I was playing well then the door would be open to me and I’m grateful to him for that.”
Diego Costa, Daily Mail
Although both Costa and Alvaro Morata had been competing for a spot in the Spanish International team, none of them were able to secure a place under coach Julen Lopetegui.
