Diego Costa claims 'it was not his fault' he ended up in exile from Chelsea

Diego Costa says he was not to blame for the falling-out at Chelsea that cost him his place in the Spain squad.

The striker went AWOL last summer after a major row with Antonio Conte and lost his place as a consequence.

He said: ‘It is very clear that it was not my fault that I was in Brazil. We all know what happened there but I’m back now and I want to do my best.

‘The coach (Julen Lopetegui) was always very clear with me that if I was not playing then it would be impossible for me to be called up. But he also said that if I was playing well then the door would be open to me and I’m grateful to him for that.’

Costa has been competing with Alvaro Morata for a starting berth but appears to have seen off the competition because the Chelsea centre-forward is not even in the current squad.

Costa said: ‘I miss Morata because we get on well. Competition is always good. Morata has been having a bad time there but he is back now scoring goals and I hope he comes back with us and we can play together.’

Asked about his club team-mate Antoine Griezmann and the possibility of him joining Barcelona in the summer, Costa added: ‘Griezmann is still with us and I hope that he stays.

‘He still hasn’t told me if he’s going but he knows how important he is for the club. I can’t interfere with his decision I will be happy if he stays but everyone has to do what they think is right for them. He has to do what is best but I think the best for him is to stay.’

Asked about the possibility of Juventus’ Pablo Dybala replacing Griezmann at Atletico he added: ‘I don’t know anything about it. He’s a great player and he’s in a great team. We want the great players here.’

Costa also joked that Griezmann would be letting him down if he left Atletico now. He added: ‘He was always calling me to come and join him so he can’t leave me now.’

When he faces Germany and Argentina over the next week, Costa will line-up alongside his archenemy in La Liga, Sergio Ramos.

He said: ‘He wants to win and so do I. If we have to fight when we are playing for our clubs then we will do, but here with Spain we fight together.

‘These games are important for me because I’m still not in Russia. I have to do well in those two games to make the squad. It’s true when I first joined the squad things were not working out for me. But now I’m adapting to the Spain team well.’