Atletico Madrid Bemoan Deal that Took Diego Costa to Chelsea

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo still harbours regret over the manner in which Diego Costa left the club for Chelsea, revealing they only received 50% of the fee previously discussed by the clubs.

Costa played an integral role in Atletico's success last term as the club celebrated their first league triumph in 18 years in a season that also saw them reach the final of the Champions League.

The striker's 36 goals in 52 games during that campaign prompted Chelsea to pay £32m for his services, a fee understood to have matched the player's release clause.

Costa has since enjoyed a seamless transition to the Premier League , scoring nine goals in nine league appearances for Jose Mourinho's side, but his former president Cerezo admits the club would have handled his departure differently today.

"He is one of the best strikers in the world," Cerezo said, speaking on Radio 4G. "His departure was rushed through because he had a moment of weakness and he couldn't say no. If the same were to happen now, he wouldn't leave.

"The financial side was not so great for us. We received around 50 percent of what had been discussed. It was more a matter of how much money he would receive."

Costa failed to score in a Premier League game in which he has featured for just the second time all season in the Blues' 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, but his fitness has remained the subject of debate for the past weeks.

Costa played in both Spain's European Championship qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg in October but would miss Chelsea's next four games against Crystal Palace, NK Maribor, Manchester United, and Shrewsbury Town with groin and hamstring problems, in addition to a bout of illness that saw him taken to hospital.