Atletico Madrid striker, Diego Costa, will have to pay £23m if he wishes to cut short his contract with Atletico Madrid early and make a move to their LaLiga rivals Real Madrid or Barcelona, Cadena Cope reports.

The 32-year-old rejoined Atletico from Chelsea in 2017 and has scored 19 goals in 81 appearances in all competitions.

However, this season, he has been a peripheral figure, making just two starts in the league after falling down the pecking order behind Luis Suarez and Joao Felix.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the campaign, Costa was widely expected to leave in the summer anyway, but it is now believed he is keen to depart in January.

The Spain striker missed training on Monday in order to try to find a resolution with the club.

But Costa has a clause in his contract whereby he would be forced to pay a staggering £23m if he were to join any of the three elite teams in Spain outside Atletico: Barca, Madrid or Sevilla.

DailyPost