Spain ace Diego Costa on £46,000-a-week contract as former Retirees star is offered to Mainz on a free transfer

Former Chelsea ace Diego Costa is available on a free transfer for £46,000 a week, according to reports.

The Spain international is without a club after leaving Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro last month.

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Costa, 33, has reportedly been offered to Bundesliga side Mainz in a deal worth a fraction of what he would have earned at Stamford Bridge.

According to Picturea consultant has touted the German mid-table striker’s services by messaging one of their scouts on WhatsApp.

They add that Costa wanted an 18-month deal worth around £46,000 a week.

The scout did not take the offer seriously, however.

His skepticism about the offer was such that he didn’t even report it to the club’s sporting director, Martin Schmidt.

When told about the exchange by Bild, Schmidt found it funny.

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He said: “I wouldn’t have taken the so called offer seriously either, we get this sort of thing more often.

“These are mostly people who have nothing to do directly with the player in question.

“Only when you show interest do they try to get active through the agent or the actual player.”

Schmidt then joked that the €4m Costa would have cost over the next year and a half was a bit out of his side’s price range anyway.

He added: “He was in talks at Barcelona and Arsenal, of course, only Mainz is missing.

“Apart from the fact that the net four million wouldn’t have matched our salary structure so well.”

This man is a winner and would make any team stronger

John Terry

Costa helped Atletico Mineiro win the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A title last year, as well as the Copa do Brasil.

And his former Chelsea team-mate John Terry is shocked his old friend is without a club.

He tweeted: “Can’t believe @diegocosta wasn’t signed by a Premier League club?

“This man is a winner and would make any team stronger.”

transfer reporter Ekrem Konour writes that Costa has an offer from Turkish side Fenerbahçe.

However, the agreement could be nullified by the duration of the contract.

Costa insists on a two-year contract, while Fener only wants to offer him six months.

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