Chelsea star Costa lifts lid on Conte training ground spat

Chelsea striker Diego Costa has dismissed his recent training ground bust-up with boss Antonio Conte as “nothing”. 

The Spain striker, who scored as Chelsea beat West Ham to go ten points clear at the top of the Premier League on Monday night, was dropped from the squad in January after an argument with Conte.

That led to intense reports he was set to quit English football by pushing for a mega-money move to the Chinese Super League.

However, Costa has now moved to damped the sensationalism of the reports, insisting everything is fine between him and his boss.

“It was nothing,” he told ESPN Brasil. “People here [in England] make up a lot of stuff.

‘Things happen, but I’m showing now that there’s nothing to it.

‘I’m playing and scoring goals, and that’s the important thing. Everyone knows that anything I say has bigger repercussions than what it was.

‘The manager is someone who works us really hard in training. He’s got his personality just like I’ve got mine and others have theirs, but the important thing is to show your personality in a way that benefits the team.

‘This is what’s happening. Everyone is on the same page and that’s the way we have to go.’