There are no winners in the wake of Diego Costa’s wantaway demands.

As expected, the bullish striker wasn’t on the list of names in Chelsea’s roster for the 2017-18 Champions League campaign. Both logic and sentiment play into that decision; Blues boss Antonio Conte doesn’t want Costa in the locker room, and cup-tying him would turn off Atletico Madrid from the move entirely.

Costa’s attempts to orchestrate a return to Diego Simeone’s side extend as far back as last January, but nothing could be done in 2017 due to the club’s transfer ban. For the next four months, each party involved must sit and wait, all equal losers in a sour situation with no real happy ending.

Conte’s reported text message to Costa deeming him surplus to requirements at Chelsea was a poor decision on the Italian tactician’s part. If Costa wasn’t to be the long-term option, they should have worked together to reach an amicable solution for the months leading up to January. Chelsea’s depth is an issue and Costa could have played in the FA or League Cup. A loan move wasn’t arranged, either.

Instead, Conte showed his hand as a man who does not react well to being slighted. While he maintained publicly that he was focused on the bigger picture – and, to be fair, was rewarded with a Premier League trophy – he did not do himself any favours in handling Costa dismissively. You can bet Chelsea’s players took note of the whole affair and will keep it in mind moving forward.

Costa is currently in Brazil, in a sort of protest leave, with the club asking him to return and reportedly considering legal action against him if he does not. It’s the last thing Chelsea’s business side needs to be thinking of as the organization continues paying the considerable wages of a player who is not even in the country – not that Chelsea is cash-strapped, but if this arrangement doesn’t change, the club will take an even greater loss on his fee.

Atletico might be the only winner of the bunch by gaining a player for a reduced figure, but that price may come with the caveat that Costa won’t be ready to contribute right away. With Antoine Griezmann also potentially departing next year, Atletico would probably prefer to spend a bit more for match fitness.

While Costa will be hungry to prove his doubters wrong, he won’t launch his personal crusade on solid footing if he spends the next few months in exile. It’ll be even tougher if he’s dealing with fitness concerns, multiple fines, and legal problems.

Fellow wantaway stars Philippe Coutinho and Alexis Sanchez might not have secured their own moves away either, but they’ll be in shape for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Costa was snubbed from Julen Lopetegui’s latest roster in favour of David Villa and isn’t exactly guaranteed a spot next summer.

Come January, an out-of-form Costa will probably sport the red-and-white stripes of Atletico once again. Conte will have moved on as he learns how best to use Alvaro Morata. The two clubs will have completed a deal where neither got what it really wanted, and Spain will continue to prepare without Costa in mind.

Life and football will go on regardless of Costa’s murky circumstances, but January can’t come soon enough for any of the parties involved.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

CLEVELAND — Members of unions representing Cleveland police officers and paramedics have said they won’t hold a large U.S. flag during pregame ceremonies before next Sunday’s Browns season opener after a group of the team’s players knelt during the national anthem before a preseason game last month.

Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, cited his service in the U.S. Navy when he told WKYC-TV he was astounded that Browns management knew of the protests but allowed it to occur.

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  Browns players linked arms while standing in a line together during the national anthem before Saturday night’s preseason game against the Bucs, a day after team legend Jim Brown stressed unity to them when addressing societal issues.

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  Erica Harris DeValve, the wife of Browns TE Seth DeValve, said focusing on her husband kneeling with black players distracts “from what our real focus should be.”

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  A dozen Browns players knelt in a circle to pray during the national anthem before Monday night’s preseason game. Several other players stood nearby and put their hands on a kneeling teammate’s shoulder.

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“I am not going to participate or work with management that allows their players to disrespect the flag and the national anthem,” Loomis said.

Nearly a dozen Browns players knelt in a circle and prayed in silent protest during the anthem before a preseason home game Aug. 21 against the New York Giants. A smaller group of players placed hands on the shoulders of their kneeling teammates.

A team spokesman issued a statement at halftime that said the organization has a “profound respect” for the national anthem, the U.S. flag and those who serve in the military.

“We feel it’s important for our team to join in this great tradition and special moment of recognition, at the same time we also respect the great liberties afforded by our country, including the freedom of personal expression,” the statement said.

Dan Nemeth, president of the Cleveland Association of Rescue Employees Local 1975, said he had a similar reaction to Loomis’. He told Cleveland.com that he served in the U.S. Marine Corps and finds it “hypocritical” for Browns management to say it supports the military while allowing players to kneel during the anthem.

“When I was growing up, we were taught to stand every morning, put our hands over our hearts and say the Pledge of Allegiance,” Nemeth said. “And when we did that, we typically had someone holding the flag in front of the class. For them to disrespect the flag by taking a knee did not sit well with me.”

About 30 Browns players stood arm-to-arm in a line behind the rest of the team during the national anthem before an Aug. 26 preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Lucien Favre didn’t hold back when talking with reporters following OGC Nice’s Champions League play-off exit Tuesday, singling out Mario Balotelli and the club’s board for criticism.

Favre, who was approached to succeed Thomas Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund in the summer, watched several of his players underperform as Napoli completed a 4-0 aggregate victory to reach the Champions League group stages at Nice’s expense.

“I don’t want to comment on Balotelli,” Favre told Brian Homewood from Reuters when asked of his view on what was a distracted and lethargic outing from the Italian marksman. “It wasn’t very satisfactory, it was not good enough.”

Favre added that Balotelli was too slow leaving the pitch when he was substituted.

The Balotelli incident that left Favre most irritated occurred when Jose Callejon made it 1-0 after 48 minutes. The former Manchester City and AC Milan striker wasn’t on the pitch, but instead rowing with the fourth official in the technical area. The arguing appeared to relate to him wearing a white bandage over jewellery on his wrist – which is outlawed in football.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Favre, perhaps ruing the job at Dortmund that could’ve been his, then hinted he was unimpressed with the support he has been given when trying to assemble a team that can compete in Europe’s elite club competition.

“To build, you have to replace the material that was there before. We have not replaced yet, far from it,” Favre complained to beIN Sports, as reported by Get French Football.

“It is difficult to find players 10 days before the end of the window, very difficult.”

So far in the summer transfer window, players have been signed relatively cheaply from fellow French teams, with the exception of Wesley Sneijder, who joined for free after a spell in Turkey. Going the other way have been Dalbert and Valentin Eysseric, both of whom shifted to Serie A, and rumours have stepped up in recent days that Jean Michael Seri is nearing a transfer to Barcelona.

Nice returns to action in Saturday’s Ligue 1 trip to Amiens SC – a match Seri declared his availability for – and will embark on another Europa League escapade from mid-September.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Aaron Donald still hasn’t reported to the Los Angeles Rams, and there is no telling when he will. But first-year head coach Sean McVay speaks to Donald on the phone from time to time. They talk about football, nothing else — and usually it’s McVay who reaches out first.

“I’ve kind of been chasing him around like I’m chasing a girl in high school,” McVay said, laughing, on Saturday, eight days before his team begins its season. “… I’ve reached out to Aaron, but it’s kind of been a back-and-forth. He’s a guy that I enjoy talking to. I’ll enjoy it a lot more when I see him in person.”

Donald’s holdout will hit 38 days by the end of this week, which amounts to $1.52 million in fines — nearly as much as his $1.80 million base salary for 2017.

The crucial day is seemingly Monday, Labor Day, one McVay called “the first day of true preparation for our team and for the Colts.” The Rams will then be off on Tuesday. If Donald doesn’t report by Monday, it will be hard to envision him playing in the Sept. 10 opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

“I’m an optimistic guy,” McVay said when asked if he was hopeful of seeing Donald on Monday. “I’m always going to take the positive approach.”

But there hasn’t been any indication that a deal between the defensive end and the Rams is close. The Rams’ front office — a contingent that included COO Kevin Demoff, general manager Les Snead and senior assistant Tony Pastoors — flew to Atlanta to meet with Donald’s representatives at CAA on Wednesday, but weren’t any closer to a deal by the time they left.

“Aaron’s a very special player to us,” McVay said. “We want him here, and we want him to be a part of this. With what these players have started to create, I think it would be special to have Aaron be a part of that.”

The Rams have continually said the right things publicly — dating all the way back to early March, when Snead said at the scouting combine that Donald “deserves a raise” — but apparently haven’t put the right things on paper.

Demoff, Snead and Pastoors have made it a point to keep McVay out of the details of their negotiations. McVay appreciates that. It allows McVay to focus only on football in his conversations with Donald. They talk about what he has missed and how he fits, and McVay tells him how badly he wants him around. He believes the feeling is mutual.

“He wants to be here,” McVay said of Donald. “We respect their approach and where they’re at, their stance, based on what they want to get accomplished out of these things. But with regards to mine and Aaron’s dialogue, it’s been exclusively player-coach football related stuff. That’s what you want it to be.”

With Donald out, the Rams’ only solidified starter in 3-4 base sets appears to be Michael Brockers. The other five down linemen, after the Rams trimmed their roster to 53 players, are Ethan Westbrooks, Louis Trinca-Pasat, Morgan Fox, Tyrunn Walker and Tanzel Smart. They all have a chance to get significant playing time now.

Donald is owed less than $9 million in base salary from 2017 to 2018, representing a significant gap between him and the game’s highest-paid defensive players. Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller signed a six-year, $114 million contract that guarantees him $70 million, and Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh signed a six-year, $114.375 million deal that guarantees him nearly $60 million. But Miller and Suh got their deals after five NFL seasons, not three.