John Obi Mikel reveals why Chelsea players stayed away from Diego Costa in the dressing room
Chelsea fans love Diego Costa for his antics at the club, but his teammates have had to stay away from his madness in the locker room.
Costa spent three short but sweet years in Chelsea where he scored 59 goals in 120 appearances, but it wasn't just his brilliant record that made him a fan favourite.
The former Spain international often left defenders battered and bruised with his grumpy attitude and street smarts up front, while his antics on and off the pitch made his rivals hate him.
But his teammates loved him, including former Chelsea star Mikel, who joined Jason Cundy and Andy Townsend in the talkSPORT studio on Monday's edition of The Sports Breakfast.
Although Costa was adored by many, his old friends at Chelsea knew to stay away from the dressing room, due to his slightly crazy side. including a humorous 'blowout' with the club kitman.
“How much time do we have left? Crazy, crazy,” Mikel said when asked to describe the 35-year-old, who joined Brazilian club Gremio this year.
“He's a guy in the locker room after training, you're sitting in the locker room and Diego Costa is sitting there…
“He's looking at everyone walking around naked, trying to hit you with a towel, grab whatever he can grab.
“Yeah, he just goes crazy. That's exactly what he does. Sometimes when you see him in the locker room, you just run away.”
“Because if you stand there, you know he's definitely going to grab something or hit you with a towel.
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“He's an incredible human being and what a player. A fantastic player. He had a bit of everything, probably the closest thing to (Didier) Drogba after he left. Good for a night out!”
Costa joined Chelsea in 2014 under Jose Mourinhoimmediately leading them to a Premier League title that season after scoring 20 goals in 26 appearances.
After Mourinho, who has since moved to Türkiye, was fired, antonio conte He came on and Costa led the Blues to another league title with another 20 goals.
However, the two tempestuous personalities were always going to clash and that led to a well documented breakup Conte sent him a text message to tell him it was not necessary.
This led Costa to return to Atletico Madrid but his time in the Premier League was not over as he would later return when he signed for Wolves in 2022.
During his stay on these shores, Costa would have several high-profile characters. moments of madness.
There was the match against Arsenal in 2015, where he sent off Gabriel Paulista, a caress on the shoulder of Gareth Barry against Everton and a stamp on Emre Can against Liverpool.
and the infamous bridge battle where Costa surprisingly avoided a card, saw him collide with Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen and the Belgian was booked.
