A £2.43m payment reportedly holding up Chelsea star’s sale

Chelsea are refusing to sanction a “loyalty” payment to Diego Costa as part of his move to Atletico Madrid, according to Marca.

The Spanish newspaper reports the La Liga side has made a final offer of €55m plus €10m in add-ons, but Costa is eligible for a 5% cut of the transfer fee in line with the clause in his contract.

That would amount to a €2.75m (£2.43m) payment going straight to Costa, but considering the player’s insistence on leaving for Atletico, Chelsea feel they shouldn’t need to honour the “loyalty” fee.

Instead, the Blues want Atletico to pick up the tab, but as they are already paying a transfer record to ensure Costa makes a move to Madrid, the Spanish side have so far refused to agree to pay the additional fee.

Once this has been resolved, the 28 year old will be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge. There are still question marks over where the Spaniard will play his football until January, but the Daily Mail report that Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal have registered an interest in taking the player on loan for the next few months.