In every summer transfer window in the years after that, there wasn't a single one where Los Rojiblancos weren't interested in bringing the striker back to Spain.
They finally did it in 2017 when they paid 55 million euros to sign Costa from Chelsea, although he wasn't able to play until January 2018 because of Atletico's transfer ban.
Form and goals haven't been easy to come by for the Brazilian-born Spaniard since his return to Atletico, leading to some club directors wanting to move him on.
However, Diego Simeone has always stuck by the forward who fired his team to the LaLiga Santander title in 2014.
The closest Costa came to leaving again was last summer, after he received an eight match ban for his red card at the Camp Nou.
El Cholo didn't just ensure that Costa stayed at the club, but he kept offering him game time during the following season.
After a hernia operation kept him out for a couple of months, the No.19 was back on the pitch in two key games against Liverpool in the Champions League, reinforcing his coach's trust in him.
Everything now points to Costa remaining at Atletico for another season - Simeone believes in him, his contract still has a year to run and the coronavirus crisis has seen the transfer market collapse.
As it stands, it will be Atletico and Costa together until contract expiry does them part.
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