Goalkeeper Navas announces retirement from the national team

Goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who has won the UEFA Champions League three times with Real Madrid, has announced his retirement from the Costa Rican national team after 16 years and 3 World Cup campaigns.

In his latest statement, goalkeeper Keylor Navas confirmed his retirement from international competition, ending his national team career spanning 16 years since its inception in 2008. One of the greatest players in the history of the Costa Rican national team bid farewell.

Navas announced this news on Instagram with a caption “We will always be united, thank you Costa Rica! Pura vida!”

In the video, Navas further stated: “Every moment with the national team has been a dream come true that I have greatly enjoyed, but this phase of my life with the national team has come to an end.”

Navas has made over 100 appearances for Costa Rica since his debut in 2008. He has represented his country in two CONCACAF Gold Cups and the FIFA World Cups in 2014, 2018, and 2022. Navas was a member of the Costa Rican national team that reached the semi-finals of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he was honored as the best goalkeeper.

Navas’s outstanding performances also helped his country reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time in 2014. Furthermore, Navas was awarded the CONCACAF Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year for three consecutive years from 2016 to 2018.

During his illustrious career, the highlight of goalkeeper Navas’s career was with Real Madrid, where he played superbly to win three consecutive Champions League titles with the Spanish giants.

At the age of 37, Navas is in the final weeks of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain. In early May, Navas announced that he would leave the French giants at the end of the season, with recent rumors linking him to Inter Miami, Newcastle, or a move to Saudi Arabia.