Chelsea supporters will never forgive Diego Costa if he cheques out now for Chinese Super League

GOOD riddance to Diego Costa, if he can get his way.

Chelsea, paying Costa £150,000 a week, cannot come close to the cash on offer in China.

For that reason, he wants out. To chase the money, to uproot his family one more time and take the big bucks for the next three years.

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The kid from Lagarto in Brazil is already rich beyond his wildest dreams.

If he gets his way and moves to China, he will be filthy rich.

He has seen his pal Oscar quit Chelsea, swapping the substitutes’ bench at Stamford Bridge for a new career with Shanghai SIPG.

Costa wants to follow him to the Far East. Even if Blues boss Antonio Conte can somehow patch things up with Chelsea’s star striker, their supporters cannot take him back. Not after this.

They have invested so much in him — forgiving him after his scrapes with opponents, managers and the FA ever since his move from Atletico Madrid in 2014.

“Diego, Diego” — sung from the terraces during his run of 14 goals in 19 Premier League games — will not be a favourite chant for a while.  He has let them down. Badly.

Costa had everybody fooled, giving the impression that he had turned a corner under their volatile Italian manager.
Behind the scenes he has been agitating for this move  over a six-week period.

He was tapped up by Shanghai Shenhua back in  November, on the list of alternatives if they failed to land Tevez from Boca Juniors.

Gus Poyet, put in charge of the Chinese Super League side on November 29, had Costa next on his list of targets if the Tevez deal fell through.

Costa, the leading scorer in the Premier League, was a wanted man. At first he resisted, telling the scores of middlemen surrounding the deal that he had unfinished business with Chelsea.

He told them he would stay — at least until the summer.

That suited Chelsea, giving them time to find a replacement when the transfer window opened at the end of the season.

Costa seemed settled, scoring goals and telling friends he was determined to win a  second Premier League title under Conte.

That changed when Tianjin Quanjian made their move.

They caught him at the right time, stepping up negotiations for his release just after his fifth yellow card of the season in a 1-0 win  at Crystal Palace.
Costa scored the goal at  Selhurst Park but the booking meant he would miss Chelsea’s Boxing Day clash with Bournemouth.
It was during this period that Tianjin started offering mind-boggling figures to tempt him away.
They were willing to pay Chelsea a £60million transfer fee and £90m over three years to the Spanish international.

Predictably, Costa wanted out. The move was on and  he started to act up in an effort to force his way out.

When Chelsea attempted to smooth relations with their temperamental forward by starting talks over a new contract, he turned them down.

Costa wanted his big payday in China. He has told Chelsea — several times — he wants to leave in this transfer window.

To that end the 28-year-old kicked up a stink in the week when he argued with Chelsea fitness coaches about his back complaint. When Conte stepped in, there appeared to be no way back.

Costa’s agent Jorge Mendes is in China putting the finishing touches to a deal that will make his client one of the best-paid players on the planet. If he gets his way, the Premier League faces the biggest power struggle in its history.

Money talks.

The biggest threat to our much-hyped top flight  are the staggering salaries being offered to players by the CSL clubs. There is no stopping them.

Costa does not care for the Premier League or for English football.

He is just passing through, a gun-for-hire in an era when money is the main motivator for nearly every top player on the planet.