Ruthless Conte’s Costa axing should serve as a warning to Real Madrid target Eden Hazard

As Chelsea’s title-winning players hugged at the Hawthorns at the start of May, tossing their manager in the air and dossing him in champagne, they appeared to be the very picture of harmony. But things change quickly in football. Not even a month has passed since those celebrations, but already Antonio Conte has switched from embracing his players to disposing of them. Or rather, one in particular.

From afar, the Italian gives off a warm and charming air, but behind the scenes he is infinitely more cold-blooded. In a move that could be straight out of the Corleone family playbook, he has exiled Diego Costa, frustrated by his continued flirtation with other clubs and an attitude that has never been easy to manage. That he did this by text message only underlines the ruthlessness of the man.

The message is clear. Conte wants loyalty and commitment above all else, to the club and to the cause, and is almost entirely disregarding of his players’ happiness. Some managers’ doors are always open, but Conte’s requires an extremely cautious knock.

He said as much as Chelsea closed in on the title. ‘I’d like to underline a concept, that I mustn’t keep the players happy. We must win. You speak about happiness, I speak about winning and working hard. I want players ready to fight and try to put themselves in the team, to try to win together. If you are happy or unhappy, I don’t care.’

It is a bold and risky approach with a Chelsea squad who effectively downed tools to get Jose Mourinho sacked. Few dressing rooms in the world hold as much sway, and as little accountability, as the one at Stamford Bridge.

Conte seemed to be the perfect antidote to an often toxic environment. But his relationship with Costa has always been tumultuous. In their first training-ground meeting the Spaniard expressed a desire to return to Atletico Madrid that immediately concerned Conte. Back in October, with Chelsea only two games into their 13-match winning run and their manager still under pressure, they had their first major row.

Costa reacted angrily to Conte’s constant instructions from the sidelines in a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester City, asked to be substituted – a request that was denied – and then engaged in a dressing-room shouting match with his coach. The relationship recovered through necessity more than anything else, but when the opportunity arose to move to China in January tensions frayed once more.

The Brazil-born striker complained of back problems just as Tianjin Quanjian made their approach, acting up in training with many suspecting he was trying to force through a move. Conte took a hard stance, omitting him in the return fixture against Leicester. But Chelsea’s title tilt was dependant on his reintegration, and he promptly returned to the starting XI.

Ultimately, their relationship has only ever been an alliance of convenience, and nothing close to the bond Costa shared with Diego Simeone, or Conte shared with Carlos Tevez. ‘I didn’t have a good relationship with him this season,’ Costa explained in Wednesday’s bombshell interview. ‘And it’s clear he doesn’t want me in the team. I suppose I must have had a bad season to not continue. If the manager doesn’t count on me, I have to leave.’

It underlines the power Roman Abramovich has handed over to Conte, with often Chelsea’s players feeling more in control of their managers’ fates than vice versa. The Italian is in a position of pure strength, able to reshape the squad however he sees fit and clearly confident in his club’s ability to bring Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge.

In many ways Conte’s handling of the situation shows that he has learned from the issues Mourinho faced not so long ago. Back then, the Portuguese coach struggled to reinvigorate his team with fresh blood and could not re-motivate a side who seemed to lose their appetite for doing the slightly negative and defence-conscious basics expected of them.

Conte’s style is not dissimilar. He demands meticulous preparation and hard work, while training is known to be rather boring and repetitive, working extensively on shape and positioning.

The decision to force Costa out, then, is as much about using him as an example to the rest of the squad. If you are not fully committed to Chelsea, leave. If you are not prepared to suffer in training, leave. If you are not enamoured with the style of play, leave. If you are not prepared to put total faith in the manager, leave. It is a message that will hold particular resonance with Eden Hazard.

According to Frank Lampard, Conte came down on the Belgian winger ‘with an iron fist’ when he started acting up in January, while last week he was fluttering his eyelashes in the direction of Real Madrid. That will not be tolerated any longer.

It could backfire on Conte, of course, given how negatively so many of these Chelsea players have reacted to shows of strengths in the past, but it also feels like a necessary step in ending the boom or bust, glory versus failure cycles the club have fallen into. A big club cannot finish sixth in the same breathe as they win the Champions League, nor can they follow up a title win by finishing 10th the following year.

Costa tried to back his manager into a corner, but now it is the Spaniard who is running out of options. Hazard, and his team-mates, have been warned that a similar fate could await them. For the first time in a long time, it is the Chelsea manager – not his players – who holds all the cards. But as he pointed out himself, it is results, and wins, that will determine whether he has made the right decision.