Diego Costa has been instructed to make a decision on his future by Atletico Madrid as he weighs up the possibility of not playing for six months in order to seal his dream return.
The Spanish striker, who played for Atleti before joining Chelsea in 2014, is expected to leave Stamford Bridge this summer after being told he is no longer in Antonio Conte’s plans.
Costa’s first choice destination would be Atletico, but the club’s current transfer ban, which was upheld by CAS, means he would not be illegible to play until January if he signed this summer.
And Atletico president Enrique has now made it plain to Costa that he must make up his mind about whether he is willing to return to the club, otherwise they could move onto other targets.
‘He is the one that has to say and decide,’ Cerezo said of Costa.
‘Costa is a Chelsea player and we can’t even say that we are interested. What I can say is that we are in a situation where we are working for the future.’
Costa has previously intimidated that he would be open to joining Atletico and then immediately being loaned out, either within La Liga or even to his home country in Brazil.
Cerezo was speaking as Atletico announced that Antoine Griezmann has rejected interest from Manchester United and signed a new long-term deal with the club.
The Red Devils could return for Griezmann in January, though, with his buy-out clause not changing, increasing Atletico’s need to sign a new striker, either now or when their ban ends at the turn of the year.
