Atletico Madrid received just £14 million for Diego Costa, according to reports

When Diego Costa joined Chelsea from Atletico Madrid, everyone already knew that there was third-party ownership involved. After all, pretty much all of Atletico's moves have involved third party ownership of late, as following the lead of the top clubs in Portugal was the only feasible way for them to stay in touch with the two financial superpowers of Spanish football.

Today, The Telegraph is reporting the breakdown of the Costa sale, and indicating that his former club received only £14 million of the £32 million fee. That really doesn't sound like a good piece of business for the defending La Liga champions, as without the low buyout or third party agreement, Atletico probably could have made four to five times that amount of money for one of Europe's hottest commodities.

While interesting, this news probably doesn't mean anything for Chelsea fans. While the article mentions that Chelsea have had connections with third party ownership before, there's nothing at all to suggest that there was anything out of line with the current deal. What's more, it appears that the Blues managed to deal with the situation far more easily than other Premier League clubs this summer, simply allowing the Madrid club to sort the details with the "investors", while handing Atletico a big pile of cash with which to pay them. With the way Costa has started the season, it looks like money well spent for Chelsea.