Diego Costa admits watching Didier Drogba first drew him to Chelsea

Chelsea striker Diego Costa admits he was initially drawn to following the club in his days as a youngster due to the presence of the legendary Didier Drogba.

The Spain international is a similar style of centre-forward to the Ivorian, who scored 164 goals in two spells at Stamford Bridge to establish himself as one of the club’s all-time greatest players.

Costa admits he followed Chelsea specifically to watch Drogba, and has also hailed his old team-mate for how much he taught him and helped him out during his first season in west London.

‘I have always seen Drogba as the example to follow in terms of a centre-forward,’ Costa told Chelsea TV. ‘He was strong and scored loads of goals and he was a quality player.

‘Just watching him train helped me. Just seeing him, I was amazed. This is because – and I’m not making this up at all – I specifically used to watch Chelsea (before joining), who are obviously a big club, just to see Drogba.

‘He was famous and everyone would talk about him. I even liked watching him when he played for the Ivory Coast.

‘When I arrived here, he was never cold with me, quite the opposite. I wasn’t exactly scared of him, but he was such a legend who had helped the club grow and been a part of all that.

‘He made history here, so could have been dismissive of me but, no, he was always fantastic with me. I will always have fond memories of him and whenever I see him, I thank him. It’s not always easy for someone with so much history to be in that position.

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‘I was playing well, scoring goals, and he would support and motivate me, whereas others might not have done the same. I take my hat off to him.’

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