Sports

Conte responds to Diego Costa: ‘In football there are intelligent and stupid people’

Published

2 hours ago

27 January 2026

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 04: Antonio Conte, manager of Chelsea shakes hands with Diego Costa of Chelsea after the Premier League match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on February 4, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Antonio Conte wasn’t particularly complimentary of his former Chelsea striker Diego Costa, insisting that ‘In football, there are intelligent and stupid people, so I won’t waste my time reading what they say’.

The Partenopei head coach is in the middle of a poor run of form, a tough injury pile-up, and has recently been defeated 3-0 by his former side Juventus in Serie A.

After what has been a tough few weeks, Conte came out fighting during his pre-match press conference ahead of Napoli’s crucial Champions League tie against Napoli on Wednesday night: Both Diego Costa and Luciano Spalletti were among those on the receiving end of digs from the Partenopei head coach.

What Diego Costa said to Conte and vice-versa

COBHAM, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 09: Pedro, Manager Antonio Conte and Diego Costa pose with their awards as they receive the Monthly Premier League Awards at Chelsea Training Ground on December 9, 2016 in Cobham, England. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images for Premier League) — COBHAM, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 09: Pedro, Manager Antonio Conte and Diego Costa pose with their awards as they receive the Monthly Premier League Awards at Chelsea Training Ground on December 9, 2016 in Cobham, England. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images for Premier League)

Diego Costa, who won the Premier League under Conte with Chelsea in 2016-17, was a recent guest on John Obi Mikel’s ‘The Obi One’ podcast.

The Brazilian-born former Spain international did not give the best character reference when discussing his time playing under Conte.

“Conte’s okay as a professional coach, but as a person, he’s the worst thing you can have on a daily basis. It’s very bad,” Costa said.

“He’s a person who doesn’t trust others, he thinks he knows everything. You don’t enjoy training with him. He’s always angry, always has a long face. He probably doesn’t have sex at home because he’s a very bitter guy.

“It’s a shame because I was very happy in Chelsea, but I did not want to cause a problem at the club. If I came back, the players wanted me to come back but nobody liked him. That’s why he didn’t last long.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 05: Antonio Conte, Manager of Chelsea (C) and Diego Costa of Chelsea (R) celebrate after the final whislte during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge on November 5, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) — LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 05: Antonio Conte, Manager of Chelsea (C) and Diego Costa of Chelsea (R) celebrate after the final whislte during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge on November 5, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Conte, speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Napoli’s Champions League match against Chelsea, was asked for his response to Costa’s remarks.

He said: “Honestly, I don’t waste energy reading or following whatever’s been said in the newspapers. In football, there are intelligent and stupid people, so I won’t waste my time reading what they say.

“Costa was with me for one season. I can talk about the football: We won the league and then he tried to leave three times in the same season. After that, I don’t know what happened.”