Diego Costa made two appearances for Brazil before switching his allegiances to Spain, even though he is a native of the South American country.
Costa has been a top striker since his days at Atletico Madrid before making a loan switch to Rayo Vallecano and then Chelsea, but the 31-year-old has now revealed that he was overlooked by then Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.
“After the friendly against Russia, he said he would call me up again because I hadn’t played many minutes,” he told ESPN Brazil. “I think it was just to get in my head.
“I remember several forwards were injured but Scolari would not select me. I stayed quiet, but wasn’t selected for the Confederations Cup. “The possibility of Spain emerged and I accepted. How could I say no?
“Suddenly, they started saying Scolari wanted me. Well, he never called me once. How could it be that he wanted me?
“I then saw it written that I had ruined the dreams of millions of Brazilians. Why not say that he didn’t look for me? Then it’s simple.”