What a difference a year makes. Just last summer, Diego Costa had never managed to bag more than ten goals in a season for any club since breaking through with Portuguese side Penafiel in 2006. Forever living in the shadow of the great Athletico Madrid strikers of the past, the Brazilian-slash-Spanish striker was still being farmed out on loan at the late age of 24 years old. With stats such as these, Brendan Rodgers must have felt that £19 million pound offer for the tempestuous and goal-shy centre-forward would be more than enough to prize him away from Athleticos clutches, with speculation mounting surrounding Luis Suarez future at Anfield.
''I had the chance to leave. I was about to do so. Liverpool are a great team. But, after so much fighting and overcoming many difficulties to earn my place at Athletico, how was I going to leave? I thought that it was very important for me to continue growing in this club and to play here for many years. - Diego Costa, September 2013.
How Costa must savour the decision to remain in Spain, as he transformed from a striker relatively unknown outside of Spain with a modest goal return into a goalscoring behemoth, racking up 36 goals in 52 games as Athletico wowed audiences by snatching their first La Liga title since 1995, and reaching a Champions League final. Now at Chelsea, Costa is one goal shy of becoming the quickest Blue to reach ten league goals in over 80 years, and looks odds-on to add another league winners medal to his collection. With Mario Balotelli continuing to struggle in front of goal, Brendan Rodgers must wince every time Costa finds the back of the net.