Diego Costa: 'I have always seen Drogba as the example to follow'

Chelsea and Spain forward Diego Costa recently revealed that ex-Blues striker Didier Drogba is his main source of inspiration at Stamford Bridge.

Since joining Chelsea from Atletico Madrid in 2014, Costa has already lifted one Premier League trophy and is on track to double that total in his third year in England.

Costa has registered 103 appearances with the Blues - scoring 51 goals in the process - and the natural born finisher credits Drogba for impacting him in a positive way.

"I have always seen Drogba as the example to follow in terms of a centre-forward," Costa said, as reported by the Telegraph's Matt Law. "He was strong and scored loads of goals and he was a quality player."

Costa spent his first season at Stamford Bridge alongside Drogba and, although the pair did not spend too much time together on the pitch, the Spanish forward said that just observing the Ivorian train changed his mentality in a good way.

"Just watching him train helped me. Just seeing him, I was amazed," Costa said. "This is because - and I'm not making this up at all - I specifically used to watch Chelsea (before he joined), who are obviously a big club, just to see Drogba.

"He was famous and everyone would talk about him. I even liked watching him play when he played for the Ivory Coast.

"When I arrived here, he was never cold with me, quite the opposite. I wasn’t exactly scared of him, but he was such a legend who had helped the club grow and been a part of all that."

Drogba enjoyed a highly successful spell at Chelsea, winning 12 major trophies, and he was even voted as the club's greatest player by fans in 2012.

But despite all of his accolades, Costa admires how Drogba was always complimentary towards him, even when the duo were competing for game time.

"I will always have fond memories of him and whenever I see him, I thank him," Costa said. "It’s not always easy for someone with so much history to be in that position.

"I was playing well, scoring goals, and he would support and motivate me, whereas others might not have done the same. I take my hat off to him."