Diego Costa earned the reputation of the ultimate bad boy of European Football during his years at Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. He was often a nuisance for defenders and an extremely temperamental player who didn’t shy away from playing rough.
Costa played a key role in helping Chelsea win two Premier League titles – as well as winning the La Liga twice with Atletico Madrid. Despite his clinical goal-scoring nature, the ex-Spain forward got involved in many controversies on and off the pitch. This included getting sent off multiple times, being named as the ‘Most Hated Footballer’ in 2015 and threatening to take Chelsea to court in 2017 when they refused to sell him.
But it appears that despite being a menace on the pitch, Costa is actually a productive and honourable human being in real life. He moved back to his home country of Brazil last year – first joining Botafogo before moving to Gremio earlier this year. However, he has proven himself as a real-life hero in the way he’s dealt with the deadly floods in Brazil.
The municipality of Eldorado do Sul – located in Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil – is suffering from a crisis situation due to shocking flooding caused by heavy rains. The floods have destroyed roads, bridges and triggered landslides – misplacing over 100,000 people as Brazilians fight to save the people in need from this crisis situation.
Diego Costa, rather than just pay money into the relief fund, decided to actually do something on the ground to save people. He has become an unlikely hero in saving over a hundred people in the Eldorado do Sul floods and done it in the craziest manner as well.
It’s been reported that Costa was initially returning from a training session with Gremio on his truck when some people asked him for help. After understanding their plight, he decided to jump into action himself in the most bonkers fashion. Because of the flooding rendering it impossible to move vehicles in some neighbourhoods, Costa decided to bring out his jet ski and use that to reach certain areas to help evacuate people and save them from the floods.
Not just that, but he also got help from four of his friends – who also brought out their jetskis to follow him and help the people in need. There are videos showing Costa and his buddies riding around in jet skis in the flooded roads trying their best to help stranded people. It’s since been speculated that Costa and his friends have been able to save over 100 people all by themselves through their meticulous hard work – becoming local heroes at the same time.
An eye-witness who was able to see exactly what the ex-Chelsea forward was doing explained: “What Diego did today, I had never seen before. He only arrived [at Gremio] a few months ago, but he left his truck in the water and took his jetski and those of his friends.”
The 35-year-old, however, is not scared of challenges and adores the thrill of doing risky stuff. A few years ago, a video of him went viral where the ex-Spain forward could be seen driving a rally car at high speed through a dirt track in Brazil – knowing that the slightest of mistakes could result in a disastrous accident.
Costa has received a lot of appreciation for his efforts in helping people during the Brazil floods, changing a lot of fans’ perception of him as well. The 35-year-old could be a villain on the football pitch, but this incident proves that he’s undoubtedly a heroic figure in real life.