Former Atletico forward reveals what it was really like facing Ramos and Pepe: ‘They were very real dogs’

Madrid – Diego Costa has never been shy about confrontation, and the retired striker’s latest interview has peeled back the curtain on one of modern Spanish football’s most ferocious personal rivalries. Speaking on Mario Suarez’s podcast, the 37-year-old recalled the battles that defined his years at Atletico Madrid: the twice-seasonly collisions with Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos and Pepe.

Costa, whose game was built on equal parts goals and intimidation, said the Madrid derbies were “always heated” and that he was “often at the centre of it.” Yet for all the snarling exchanges that television cameras captured, the former Spain international insists the hostility never migrated beyond the touchline.

“They are men, like me. They defended their own, and I defended mine, although it all stayed on the field,” Costa told Suarez. “Ramos and Pepe were very real dogs.”

The language is characteristically blunt, but Costa was quick to contextualise the remark. In his view, the pair’s uncompromising style forced him to “raise his game to the maximum,” a challenge he actively welcomed. “They were the two defenders I liked to face the most,” he admitted. “They were very good.”

Costa contrasted the Madrid duels with clashes against Barcelona’s Gerard Piqué and Carles Puyol, claiming the Blaugrana duo would apologise after heavy challenges, whereas Ramos and Pepe met aggression with aggression. “At Madrid you can always hit harder,” he said, adding that games against Barcelona “were very difficult because we had to defend,” whereas fixtures against Real Madrid allowed him to “compete more.”

The striker’s reflections underline a career-long relish for physical and psychological warfare. Ramos and Pepe, renowned for aggressive defending, leadership and mental fortitude, became the benchmark against which Costa measured his own intensity. Now retired, Costa looks back on those duels not with resentment but with admiration, crediting the two centre-backs for sharpening the competitive edge that made him a fan favourite at the Wanda Metropolitano and beyond.