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Cape Town - Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been left out of the club's UEFA Champions League squad to take part in the group stages of the 2017/18 installment of the competition.
The Spain international fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge after claiming coach Antonio Conte told him not to report for pre-season as he was no longer involved in his plans.
The Brazil-born forward was reportedly trying to force through a move to Atletico Madrid in Spain during the off-season, however, no deal took place due to both clubs not agreeing on a fee.
Atletico are banned from registering new players before the January transfer window, and were reluctant to pay Costa's hefty salary before he was eligible to play for them.
Nonetheless, it has been confirmed that the player has not been selected in Chelsea's 25-man Champions League squad, with new signings Danny Drinkwater, Davide Zappacosta, Antonio Rudiger, Willy Caballero and Tiemoue Bakayoko all included.
Chelsea squad for UCL group stages:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Willy Caballero, Eduardo
Defenders: Davide Zappacosta, Victor Moses, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Jake Clarke-Salter, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Gary Cahill, Marcos Alonso, Kenedy.
Midfielders: N'Golo Kante, Kyle Scott, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Cesc Fabregas, Danny Drinkwater. Charly Musonda, Pedro, Willian, Eden Hazard.
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi, Alvaro Morata
