Joao Moutinho and Diego Costa will leave Wolves upon expiry of their contracts at end of 2022-23 season.
Moutinho joined Wolves from Monaco in July 2018 following their promotion to the Premier League and has gone on to score five goals in 212 appearances, but the midfielder will now leave once his contract expires on 30 June.
Wolves’ Sporting Director, Matt Hobbs paid tribute to the Portugual international as he commented: “Joao’s going to go down as one of the best players to ever pull on the old gold, in my opinion.
“He was an integral part of the team the entire time he was here. Our success over the last four or five years, he’s been instrumental in. So, he now departs with nothing but thanks from the football club.”
Hobbs proceeded to praise Moutinho for his professionalism and inspiration for young players as he continued: “Everything he does is meticulous. He’s shown a lot of the younger players what you have to do to look after yourself and have a good career in the game.
“When he first came to the club, he was a big part of the culture change, because of his work ethic and how he managed himself before and after training. He definitely raised the levels and expectations amongst the players themselves.
“When he came in, we had a huge Portuguese contingent, and he was a hero to a lot of the guys for what he’d achieved in both club and international football. He just had that presence and people wanted to follow what he was he doing.
“We thank Joao for all he did at Wolves and wish him the best of luck for the future.”
Striker, Diego Costa will also leave the club having only signed an one-year contract as a free agent back in September, due to a striker shortage caused by various injuries and has gone on to score one goal in 26 appearances.
Hobbs described Costa’s impact at the club this season as “incredible” in terms of how he embraced the club in terms of their values and culture.
Costa’s on-pitch attitude and support for other players was also praised as Hobbs added: “On the pitch, he’s shown that he still has a lot to offer and off the pitch he’s been an incredible teammate, especially for the young Brazilians like Joao [Gomes] and Matheus [Cunha] – he’s been a real asset for them.”
Costa has also supported Wolves’ Women team which Hobbs was impressed with as he continued: “We’ve seen the relationship he’s had with the women’s team, where he was in the gym in the evenings and they came in and formed friendships, and he was very supportive of them.
“I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done over the season – he was a really important part of what we managed to achieve, staying in the Premier League.”
Explaining the decision not to offer Costa a new contract, Hobbs said: “It feels the natural time to part ways because he was on a one-year contract. There was some internal conversations and we felt this was right.
“I’ve got no doubt that Diego will get another club off the back of his performances for sure. If a club calls me to ask about the person, he’ll get nothing but praise from me.”
Adama Traore meanwhile is out of contract after joining from Middlesbrough in August 2018 and has since scored 14 goals in 200 appearances for the club, but Hobbs has refused to rule out agreeing a new contract with the winger.
Re-iterating manager, Julen Lopetegui’s stance on Traore’s contract situation, Hobbs insisted that Traore “is a player we’d like to keep and we’re still talking to him.”
Hobbs however acknowledged that Traore could still leave after 30 June as he explained: “He’s now out of contract, but it doesn’t mean there’s not an opportunity to still come to an agreement, so conversations will be ongoing. He’s probably earned the right to understand what else is out there.
“He’s a great guy around the place, always happy and friendly, so on every level we’d like to keep him. Sometimes it’s not possible, but we’ll certainly be trying. We hope we can come to an agreement but let’s see what happens over the next few weeks.”
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