Antonio Conte has been fully backed by Chelsea’s board after he dumped Diego Costa from his squad via a text message, according to reports.
Last week, Costa revealed that the Italian sent him a ‘simple message’ to explain that he no longer has a future at Stamford Bridge.
As first revealed by Spanish newspaper AS, Conte’s message in
full was:
‘Hi Diego, I hope you are well. Thanks for the seasono [sic] we spent together. Good luck for the next year but you are not in my plan.’
Conte faced the prospect of cutting short his holiday for a meeting with Roman Abramovich and chairman Bruce Buck to review the situation.
But The Sun now claims that Conte has received the full support from Chelsea’s hierarchy, which sends a clear message to the squad that the Italian’s decision to axe Costa is fully supported.
Conte is currently on holiday in Italy but will return to Chelsea a few days before the squad start their pre-season campaign on July 7.
Costa, meanwhile, is uncertain over his future having initially wanted to return to Atletico Madrid this summer.
Atletico’s transfer ban, which restricts them from signing new players until January 2018, means that a move back to Diego Simeone’s side is now unlikely.
