Costa Rica has a decorated footballing history for a country of its size, and few have done more to fly the flag for Los Ticos than Navas
Among all of the players to emerge from Costa Rica to a measure of success in European football -- Celso Borges, Bryan Ruiz, Paulo Wanchope, there's no questioning the outsize impact of Keylor Navas, a player who has scaled the very heights of club football, making good on a career path that has been a slow burn at times.
Born in the southern city of San Isidro de El General, Navas made his debut for Saprissa, one of his country's biggest sides, at just 18 years of age. While his progress there was somewhat slowed by veteran José Porras, it wasn't long before Navas was first choice, winning a succession of trophies and becoming a regular for Los Ticos, including being named the best goaltender at his first major international tournament, the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. A move to Europe was in the offing, and Navas spent productive spells in Spain with Albacete and Levante before being signed by Real Madrid off the back off his having helped Costa Rica reach a historic quarterfinal in the 2014 World Cup.
Merci…
— Keylor Navas (@NavasKeylor) May 27, 2024
🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/NsL9pewls2
With Los Blancos, Navas was instrumental in the team winning three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles, even being named the competition's best goalkeeper in the last of these, and a league title as well. After five seasons in the Spanish capital, Navas joined Thomas Tuchel's Paris Saint-Germain side in 2019, replacing the departing Gianluigi Buffon in goal. His arrival made an instant impact, as in his first season, he helped the capital side to a domestic treble as well a historic run to the final of the 2020 UEFA Champions League.
While subsequent seasons saw him lose his place (unfairly in some quarters) to Gianluigi Donnarumma, Navas' accomplishments for PSG, for whom he made 114 appearances, are more than enough to ensure his status as a player whose time in France will be fondly remembered. Now retired from international football, having coincidentally won as many caps for his country as he did from PSG, his next move is anyone's guess, but he departs Ligue 1 Uber Eats having made an indelible mark on the game in France, winning a record number of trophies for a CONCACAF player as well as being in the conversation for the world's best goalkeeper for the better part of a decade.
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