Diego Costa was a late bloomer before becoming one of the world's best strikers at Atlético Madrid and now at Chelsea.

Costa had loan spells with five clubs in Spain and Portugal, along with four permanent moves in as many years.

“Football is my life and I cannot imagine myself doing anything other than playing this game,” he says. “I’ve been through a lot to get here and I know now the difficult thing is to maintain myself at this level. To stay here and to maintain yourself among the best you have to become a better player and a better person as well. So I have to work and improve as if there was no tomorrow. Obviously I have to enjoy all I have. People depend on you, and now I can look back at everything I’ve gone through to get here with a different perspective. I am glad I have given my family the life I wanted for them. That is my responsibility.”

Costa scored 56 goals in two seasons with Atlético.

“I was already improving a lot during my spell at Atlético, but I’ve always sought to improve personally year on year and it’s really important to have a mentor who guides you,” he adds. “José Mourinho has been really clear about what he expects from me, saying he wants me working hard rather than just scoring. Hard work is what he values. Up to now, things have gone phenomenally well for me at Chelsea.

“There is a great sense of unity in the squad, similar to what we had at Atlético last season [when the team won La Liga and reached the Champions League final]. We all want the same thing, and we all have the same work ethic. You need that to be successful as a group. It has helped me having players like Cesc here, someone I knew [from Spain] but also a player who reads my movements and provides me with so many opportunities. He has a real gift for passing.”