Diego Costa, Vitolo officially presented at Atletico Madrid

Doctor Jekyll is back at Atletico Madrid.

On Sunday, Diego Costa and Vitolo were officially presented at Atleti in front of 25,000 supporters at the Wanda Metropolitano. The villainous striker will wear No. 18, while the Spanish winger will don No. 23.

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

Vitolo echoed Costa’s gratitude, saying: “I want to thank the president, Enrique Cerezo, and Miguel Angel Gil for insisting on bringing me to this club. The truth is that I’m proud to join a team as big as Atletico, one of the best in Europe.”

In June, the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed the transfer ban imposed on Atleti for breaches of FIFA’s rules regarding the transfer of minors, meaning that Costa and Vitolo couldn’t be registered until January 2018.

Costa’s return to Atleti was finalised in September, when Los Colchoneros and Chelsea agreed on the conditions for the transfer. According to Marca’s Alberto R. Barbero, negotiations took almost all of the Spanish club’s focus throughout the summer, and, after minor issues were ironed out, the two clubs agreed on a €65-million fee.

Atleti reached an agreement with Vitolo until 2022 after the product of UD Las Palmas rescinded his contract with Sevilla. The announcement came one day after Pepe Castro, the Andalusian club’s president, declared that an agreement with the footballer was reached “on paper,” and that Vitolo’s signature was the “only thing” missing. In September, Sevilla’s administrative council decided that a lawsuit would be filed against those implicated in the transfer, which saw the player spend the first half of the season with the Canarian club.