Diego Costa admits he wanted to return to Atletico Madrid this summer

Usually when a transfer falls through, the player in the middle of it all does his best to convince everyone that he never intended on leaving in the first place.

With Diego Costa, however, things are a little different. Costa banged goals in for fun during his first season with Chelsea, firing the club to its first (and last) title of Jose Mourinho's second stint at the club. The following year, things didn't go to plan for himself and for the club, prompting rumours that the Brazilian/Spanish striker fancied a move back to Atletico Madrid. Having joined back up with the Spanish national squad after being left out of their Euro 2016 campaign, Costa was asked about how close he came to a move back to the Spanish capital. Instead of flatly denying that he was interested in a return, the 27-year-old did the opposite.

"I wished I could go back to Atletico, I'm not going to lie," he told Spanish TV station Movistar Plus. "Everyone knows what happened to me in England, with the language, the weather and everything. But I can't complain because I'm a boy whom the fans love and at Chelsea they respect me." "I had the chance to go back but I couldn't, because of a few details. I'm grateful to the people at Atletico, to Cholo [Simeone] especially, who has always put his confidence in me. "Now I am at Chelsea, I'm doing well, the league has started and I'm focused on that. Things are how they are. I hope that Atletico do very well, like last season but this time win titles. I want the best for them, I always feel for them, but I have to do my work at Chelsea."

Although Chelsea supporters won't be too pleased by these comments, we're sure that they'll get over them if he can replicate the kind of form he showed a couple of years ago. Having already found the back of the net twice in their first three games of the season, the signs are good. The new GAA Hour football podcast is out. Listen to Colm Parkinson, Barry Cahill, and Senan Connell dissect a classic between Dublin and Kerry. Subscribe here on iTunes.