Atletico Madrid deny Chelsea have completed £32m move for Diego Costa

Diego Costa’s move to Chelsea is not close to being completed soon.

Chelsea’s transfer for Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa is far from complete, according to the club’s president Enrique Cerezo, reports Sky Sports.

The London club had been believed to be set to complete the signing of Costa once the World Cup had finished, but Cerezo has said that whilst there has been contact Chelsea the Premier League side haven’t intimated that they are prepared to meet the striker’s buy-out clause.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Cerezo confirmed Chelsea’s interest and admitted that if Costa received a bid it is highly unlikely he would remain with Atletico.

“We don’t know anything about Costa, all we know is that Chelsea have made contact but we haven’t received any money or anything else yet,” Cerezo said.

“Until we receive the money from his buy-out clause, he remains an Atletico player.”

The Spanish club surprised everyone by winning the La Liga title this season. They also reached the Champions League final. Atletico have an unwanted history of losing their star strikers in recent years, including the likes of Fernando Torres, Sergio Aguero and Radamel Falcao.

“We’ve always tried to convince our players to stay, but the difference between our finances and that of other clubs is very large,” said Cerezo.

The president also said that he believed that Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will return to Chelsea next season, having spent the past three seasons out on loan with Atletico.

“Chelsea can count on Courtois, because he is their player,” he said.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi scored more goals than Diego Costa (27) in La Liga last season.