With the World Cup drawing to a close, European football returned to the attention of the media and fans.
During the World Cup, European Football quietly completed several major transfers.
The least surprising was Atletico Madrid center forward Diego Costa's high-profile €38 million transfer to Chelsea. The deal had already been widely reported by the media before the World Cup, and even before the season had ended.
Besides Diego Costa, Chelsea had also set its sights on Atletico Madrid's defense. Left-back Filipe transferred to Chelsea for €20 million. Yang Yang's former teammate had won Mourinho's favor, and if he could continue his Atletico Madrid form at Chelsea, it would undoubtedly take his career to another level.
The two deals brought Atletico Madrid nearly €60 million in transfer revenue. Along with other potential departures and the team's performance in the Champions League the previous season, this would leave Atletico Madrid with very ample funds.
After selling Diego Costa, Simeone immediately brought in Croatian center forward Mandzukic from Bayern Munich. The deal cost €22 million.
Goalkeeper Courtois had been caught up in transfer rumors for half a year. He had long been linked with Barcelona, while the Belgian goalkeeper himself was not particularly keen on returning to Chelsea.
Mourinho wanted the young Courtois to return to Stamford Bridge and compete with veteran Čech for the starting spot, giving Chelsea double insurance in goal. Courtois, however, had made it clear that he refused.
From the perspective of his career development, his three years at Atletico Madrid had already proven that he was one of the most outstanding young goalkeepers in European Football. He had also been the first-choice goalkeeper in the Champions League Final and one of the best-performing goalkeepers in the Champions League. Under those circumstances, asking him to give up everything