Diego Costa Will Officially Eligible to Play for Atletico Madrid From New Year's Day

Diego Costa will be available to play for Atletico Madrid play from New Year's Day after his official presentation on Sunday.

​The Spanish forward thanked Atletico Madrid for bringing him back to the club, having sealed his return from ​Chelsea.

And he made clear his delight at the opportunity to once again play for the club where he made his name before a switch to Stamford Bridge in 2014.

”I want to thank the club for all the hard work they did to be able to bring me back," he said. "From the heart, thank you.”

Costa's transfer was completed in September but he was unable to join immediately due to Atletico's transfer ban.

Now that he has officially signed, manager Diego Simeone has expressed his hope that the 29-year-old will be able to partner Antoine Griezmann in attack.

"We have worked hard to bring Griezmann and Costa and hopefully we keep him for a period," said the Argentine coach - quoted by ​Goal - in regards to speculation that the former could be set to leave the club.

​Atletico now have significantly more options in attack, with Kevin Gameiro also having found some form in recent weeks.

The 30-year-old scored a hat-trick as Atletico came from behind to beat Al Ahly 3-2 in a friendly in Egypt on Saturday.

"He always creates chances and hopefully this will give him confidence especially now that he has more competition," Simeone said. "It was a complete performance from us in both halves."

Atletico return to competitive action with a Copa del Rey clash against Lleida on January 3rd, in which Costa could make his first appearance.