Diego Costa asks to terminate Atletico Madrid contract

The striker’s current contract expires at the end of the season, but he has now asked Atletico Madrid to cut it short by six months.

Reports in Spain claim Diego Costa has asked Atletico Madrid to end his contract early ahead of the January transfer window.

The 32-year-old attacker has struggled to recapture the form seen from his first spell at the club. Only 19 goals and 14 assists have been tallied across 74 appearances since his return from Chelsea in 2018.

Injury problems have been a near-constant for Costa, restricting him to just seven appearances this season alone.

But according to Spanish outlets Diario AS and Marca, Costa wishes to leave Madrid for personal reasons. He has, therefore, informed club officials of his desire for them to terminate his contract.

The Brazilian-born Spaniard didn’t attend training with the rest of the Atletico squad on Monday either.

Reports state that Atletico are open to the prospect of allowing Costa to leave. Any agreement, however, may hinge on whether Diego Simeone’s side can find a replacement as Luis Suarez, Joao Felix, and Ivan Saponjic are their only other main center-forward options.

As for where Costa will go next, the striker reportedly favors staying in Europe. Moves to Brazil or China cannot be discounted, though, as Flamengo and Tianjin Quanjian have both expressed an interest recently.