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Andre Villas-Boas reveals that Diego Costa was offered to him in an anonymous WhatsApp message … but he believed it was a JOKE with Marseille unable to pay the striker’s £ 14million a year salary.
- Diego Costa is a free agent after Atletico Madrid freed him from his contract
- Spain striker, 32, is looking for a new club and can sign with no transfer fees
- Wolves and Marseille have been linked with the former Chelsea striker
- But Marseille boss Andre Villas-Boas says his club can’t afford Costa’s salary
Andre Villas-Boas has excluded Marseille from the Diego Costa signing race – citing the Spain striker’s huge salary demands.
Former Chelsea striker Costa, 32, is a free agent after Atletico Madrid released him from his £ 270,000-a-week contract six months earlier and on the lookout for a new club.
Premier League Wolves have been linked with Costa and Marseille have also been mentioned. But their manager Villas-Boas has categorically ruled out any possibility of a move for him.
Diego Costa will not move to Marseille after manager Andre Villas-Boas admitted the club could not afford his £ 270,000 a week salary
Villas-Boas said he thought the rumors linking Marseille to free agent Costa were a joke
“ First of all, Diego Costa earns 16million euros (£ 14million) gross each year. It’s the first thing we have to recognize, ” said the Marseille boss.
“I received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number telling me that Diego Costa wanted to come to OM. I thought it was a joke.
“ He’s one of the best strikers in the world, [but we are] go look for something else. We cannot pay his salary.
After scoring 59 goals in 120 games for Chelsea in three seasons, Costa returned to Atletico Madrid in 2017. But his second stint was not as profitable as his first, with 19 goals in 81 games.
Costa (above) is a free agent after terminating his contract at Atletico Madrid last month
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo (left) is on the hunt for the forward with Raul Jimenez (right) pulled out
While Nuno Espirito Santo’s side need firepower in the absence of Raul Jimenez, who suffered a broken skull, Wolves have been linked with a transfer for free agent Costa.
The forward helped Diego Simeone’s Atletico win La Liga and reach the Champions League final in 2014 before moving to Stamford Bridge later this year for £ 32million.
Costa won the Premier League in his first and last seasons at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte respectively, finishing as the Blues’ top scorer in each of those campaigns.
Costa, born in Brazil, also has 10 goals in 24 international appearances for Spain.
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