Diego Costa leaves Atletico: the why and the what now...

Atletico Madrid today confirmed the mutual termination of Diego Costa's contract. Those close to Costa and sources inside the Atletico camp indicate that this was actually a surprisingly straightforward affair - with both sides ultimately getting what they wanted.

The English media in particular seem very surprised by this, but those who have followed Costa since his return from Chelsea can honestly say they saw this coming. His first spell at the club was nothing but pure success, continuing the seemingly endless line of top strikers that Atletico seem to churn out. His success earned him a move to Chelsea and 2 Premier League Titles, before returning to Madrid to seemingly set the world alight there again.

Why has his contract been released 6 months early? And why shouldn't we be surprised?

The Diego Costa that we in England remember was a straight-up bully, breaking defences down physically and mentally, someone no team wanted to face. 58 goals across 3 seasons can give some indication of the impact he had for the Blues. He helped make players around him better too; Hazard was usually allowed all the space in the world as 2 or more defenders would often team up on Costa in an attempt to win the ball from him, and Pedro and Willian were able to grab 25 goals between them in 1 season. His return 'home' to Atletico looked as if it would follow a similar path.

Unfortunately, a series of injuries have marred his comeback. The truth is, he never really got started - 12 league goals over 3 years is by no means a return on the reported €66 million Atletico paid to bring him back from Chelsea. He constantly picked up injuries that would sideline him for 2-3 weeks, come back into the side and then get injured again. Even when he was available for selection, he never seemed himself, a shadow of the monster he was during his first spell there and then at Chelsea. The herniated disk that ruled him out for 3 months last season was a real turning point; there was always optimism that if they could keep him fit that he would start firing on all cylinders. From Atletico's point of view, paying £160,000 a week to attempt to nurse Costa consistently, to be rewarded by mediocrity, was not going to work.

Understandably, Costa has found the injuries just as frustrating as Atletico have. The papers are reporting undisclosed personal issues, and I'm sure that that was the main reason he asked for his contract to be terminated, but I can't help feeling that the arrival of Luis Suarez has a part to play in all this. Diego Simeone's rigid 4-4-2 had Costa partnered with a number of strikers. However, since the departure of Griezmann to Barcelona, Costa has worked with Felix and Morata during times when they were both inconsistent. The aforementioned optimism and confidence was placed in Costa because he was seen as the more experienced, consistent player, to guide Atletico through games when Felix and Morata couldn't. However, now that Felix has hit the form expected of him more consistently, and the arrival of a genuinely world class striker in Suarez (who has already scored 7 goals in the league), it has become clear to see for all parties that the faith in Costa has been misplaced. Perhaps some sort of mirage and sentimentality over the player he had been in an Atletico shirt played a part in him staying so long, but now there is a striker with a similar reputation who has come in and landed on his feet, it was only a matter of time before people started wondering why they were paying £160,000 a week for him.

What now for both parties?

The early noises suggest that Artitz Milik of Napoli is viewed as a cheap and reliable option up front, and is admired by Simeone. At €15 million, he won't break the bank for Atletico, but do bear in mind they are going to have to splash out on a right-back to cover the suspended Kieran Trippier following his 10-week gambling ban, so any deal for a striker must also leave room in the budget for that. Also reports of Atleti rekindling their interest in Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette, but he will surely come with a big price tag, and I'm not sure that Atletico want to sign another under-confident striker to lead the line (following the experiment of Alvaro Morata).

As for Costa, lots of speculation from all parts of the globe have flooded the media this morning. We understand that he already had offers from Chinese and Brazilian clubs before his contract was officially terminated and that seems like the next natural step for me. Alternatively, there is talk of a move to London, to any of Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham. Arsenal are in need of some fire in their front line and a leader in the squad generally, so free agent Costa may well be turned to. Mourinho is said to be very keen to reunite with the Spaniard and has always been a fan of his 'warrior' mentality. Finally, Chelsea have had to make do without a consistent striker this season, with Giroud, Werner and Abraham scoring at times and going missing at others. However, I would imagine one of those strikers (most likely Giroud) would need to leave before facilitating such a move, and it remains unclear as to whether Costa holds any grudge towards Chelsea, or just the manager that sent him packing. Spanish media outlets are reporting that he has an in-built clause in his termination contract that he will be 'fined' €23 million should he join either Barcelona or Real Madrid, effectively demanding a transfer fee should either of their rivals swoop in for Costa. Personally, I couldn't see that move even without that clause, as it doesn't really make a huge amount of sense for either club, but Atletico covering their bases is a good idea.

Whatever his destination, being a free agent in this market means he can demand an eye-watering contract from any of his potential suitors because of the lack of an up front transfer fee, which is why it makes sense to me that he would go to China (where he will have a huge contract) or Brazil (where his family home is, potentially suggesting he would not be so interested in the money insomuch as the location of the club). I think his days at the top are over unfortunately, but I wouldn't rule out a move from Arsenal. January will soon be upon us and there we will get our answer...