Diego Costa, 33, available on free transfer for '£46k-a-week contract after ex-Chelsea star is offered to Mainz'
DIEGO COSTA is available on a free transfer for £46,000 a week, according to reports.
The ex-Chelsea hero is without a club after leaving Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro last month.
Costa, 33, was reportedly offered to Bundesliga club Mainz on a deal worth a fraction of what he would have earned at Stamford Bridge.
According to Bild, a consultant touted the striker's services to the mid-table German side by messaging one of their scouts on WhatsApp.
They add that Costa wanted an 18-month deal worth around £46k a week.
The scout didn't take the offer seriously, however.
So much was his scepticism over the offer, that he didn't even flag 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 that kind of thing more often.
"These are mostly people who have nothing directly to do with the player in question.
"Only when you show interest do they try to get active through the actual agent or the player."
Schmidt then joked that the €4million that Costa would have cost over the next year and a half was a little out of his side's price range anyway.
He added: "He was under discussion at Barcelona and Arsenal, of course only Mainz is missing.
"Apart from the fact that the four million net would not have fitted our salary structure that well."
This man is a winner and would make any team stronger
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 that his old pal is without a club.
He tweeted: "I can’t believe @diegocosta hasn’t been signed by a premier league club?
"This man is a winner and would make any team stronger."
Transfer reporter Ekrem Konur writes that Costa has an offer from Turkish side Fenerbahce.
However, the deal could be scuppered by the length of the contract.
Costa is insistent on a two-year deal, whereas Fener only want to offer him six months.
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