Diego Costa

Some Lesser Known Facts About Diego Costa

• Does Diego Costa smoke?: Not Known

• Does Diego Costa drink alcohol?: Yes 

• His father was a big football fan and he named his son after Diego Maradona.

• He inherited the love for football from his father and used to play in the streets all the time.

• In his childhood, he had a neighbour who was speech-and-hearing impaired, they used to go to training together. Though the coach wasn’t happy as he wasn’t able to make him understand but Diego was always there to translate for him. 

• He had a poor financial background, which is why his house was located in a very remote location.

• At age 15, he trialled at his hometown team Atlético Clube Lagartense where he failed. He then left Sergipe and moved to São Paulo and started working with his uncle as a teenage truck driver.

• He had his first stint with professional football when his uncle got him enrolled in a local football club named Barcelona Ibiuna. 

• He didn’t even have money to take a bus to the academy. He was bullied at the academy which further led him to leave football yet again and join his uncle’s shop to earn some more money. His coach, Paulo Moura, somehow, understood the passion and talent he possessed and often picked him from his home.

• At the age of 18, he got an offer to join Portuguese club SC Braga, but his parents wanted him to join a local club Sao Caetano FC in Sao Paulo. He chose the former which turned his life around and made him a footballing star. 

• His amazing performances earned him the title of “the new Kaka”.

• In 2007, he was signed by Athletico Madrid, but before making him play a single game, he was loaned away to Braga, Celta and Albacete for the following three seasons.

• He, however, wasn’t very happy about the lack of opportunities he was getting, and moved to Real Valladolid in July 2009. 

• Though in 2010, he was again acquired by Athletico Madrid. 

• In 2010, he was in a relationship with a Brazilian model, Michele Zuanne. After their separation, she alleged that Diego tried to cheat on her with her sister, and that was the reason, they broke up.

• In March 2013, he was invited to play for the national Brazilian team. He played two games for them. A few months later, Royal Spanish Football Federation made an official request to acquire Diego for their national team and Diego also expressed his desire to play for Spain. FIFA approved it. Though he faced a lot of criticism from the people questioning his morality. 

• He represented Spain in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. 

• In July 2014, he joined Chelsea after having a great 2013-2014 season with Athletico Madrid.

• In the 2016-2017 Season, he led his team to the Premier League glory by scoring 20 goals for his team.

• In 2017, it was rumoured that Antonio Conte, the coach of Chelsea had told him that he should leave the club as he is not part of his plans for the next season, via a text message. This didn’t go well with him and he publicly criticized the coach over his exit from the club. He moved back to Athletico in January 2018. 

• In 2018, he was selected in Spain’s squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.