Diego Costa vs Zlatan Ibrahimovic : Did the Blues mess it up?

0
1379

Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were two strikers who were carrying the baton for their respective teams during the 2016/17 season. While both of them were masters of their trade but they still had lot to prove.

Costa and his Chelsea side had just suffered a terrible 2015-16 season under Jose Mourinho – which effectively saw the Portuguese part ways with the Blues in December of 2015. While Zlatan Ibrahimovic left PSG after years of service in order to find a new challenge.

Costa was instrumental in Chelsea’s league triumph in the 2014-15 campaign, but looked a shadow of his past self in the very next season. So the Spaniard was looking to revive his old form under his new manager Antonio Conte. While Zlatan was all but 34 and many pundits had wrote him off by saying that the Swede should shift bases to the USA and end his career with much dignity. But Zlatan was having none of that. The 35-year-old signed as a free agent with Manchester United and looked to conquer the Premier League with his old mate and new manager – Jose Mourinho.

Well now the Premier League season of 2016-17 is over and we have already moved to the next one. But within this one year a lot has changed for both of them. Both Costa and Ibrahimovic have had successes with their individual teams in their own right. While the former helped Chelsea win their 2nd title in three seasons, the latter helped Manchester United get back into playing Champions League football.

But just a few months later both these players are living totally opposite lives as far as their club careers are concerned.

Costa who scored 20 goals for Conte’s side last season is now an outcast, a rebel who has no place in the team. And Zlatan who suffered multiple ligament tears in April is being treated to world class services by United even though he will not be fit to play for at least  a few more months.

This clearly shows how both these teams have valued their priced assests. One is the crown jewel while the other is not even fit to be a door mat.

Rough sea but the ship sailed smoothly:

Both these players had a few hiccups during the course of last season. Costa was involved in a training ground bust up in January after which everyone thought that the Blues will sell him off to some Chinese club that very month. But all those rumours died down and Costa tucked back in nicely into Conte’s lap.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic too had a rough last few months of the season. The big Swede was scoring out of fun for most of the season and he had quickly turned into the new darling of Old Trafford. But then in April while playing in the Europa League he suffered multiple ligament damages. And this cut his season short as he would not take part in any further matches.

While after such a fine run of form everyone thought that Manchester United would offer a contract extension to Zlatan but after his injury that was not the case. Manchester United announced that they will not be giving Zlatan a new deal. And this was more the player’s decision than the management’s. Multiple sources claimed that Zlatan did not want a new contract while still being a regular at the treatment room.

Same prism but opposite spectrums:

When the previous season came to an end, every United supporter was anxious about the Zlatan situation whereas all the Chelsea fans could see was green pastures ahead of them.

But just a few weeks into the transfer window and everything turned on its head. Costa famously claimed that Conte does not want him at Chelsea and he has been told to find a new club. And after this all less broke lose. From funny instagram remarks to exile, from mockery to abandoning trainings – the Chelsea fans have seen it all in the past three months. But they still can’t figure out how it will end.

Zlatan’s on the other hand was a completely different story.

The Swede was always close to United – even after his injury. Zlatan refused payments from the club while he was still injured whereas Manchester United opened their Carrington facility to him so that he can recover quicker. And the result? A few weeks ago United announced that they have re-signed him on a new contract. But he will not be available before January – as per the current schedule.

That is the amount of faith and respect that the United board and Jose Mourinho has showed on Zlatan. They have offered a new one year deal to a player who at best will play only five months of a whole season.

The Football Fan Base view:

We are not trying to bring down Chelsea in any way but all we wish to say is that they could have handled the situation with much more grace. But maybe it’s not their fault. Maybe Costa was an equal culprit. We may never know.

But what we know and feel is that the Blues should take a cue out of Manchester United’s book and see how a precious asset is handled.