Keylor Navas has been the protagonist of one of the most surprising revelations of recent days. The former Madrid goalkeeper, who is currently playing at Newell's, confessed on the program El Larguero that he received a call from Barcelona after Ter Stegen's serious injury... but he rejected the offer without hesitation.
Keylor Navas: No to Barça
"Yes, Barça called me when Ter Stegen got injured. But if instead of Barça Florentino Pérez calls me, I'd swim there," the Costa Rican stated... making his stance and loyalty to Real Madrid very clear. At that moment, the blaugrana club was looking for an urgent solution to cover the German's absence, and Navas appeared as a reliable option. However, his response was decisive.
Navas's refusal forced Barça to keep looking in the market, and they finally opted for an unexpected solution: Wojciech Szczesny. The Pole had recently hung up his gloves and agreed to come out of retirement to help Hansi Flick's team, where he is now the undisputed starter.
The former Madrid player, who won three Champions Leagues defending the white goal, has never hidden his affection for the Merengue club. His time at Real Madrid marked his career, and his identification with the white entity remains intact, despite being out of professional soccer.
From FC Barcelona's environment, they have not wanted to enter into controversies, although they acknowledge that the decision was surprising due to the lack of viable alternatives at that precise moment. The choice of Szczesny was an emergency measure that has fulfilled with dignity, but it was not the first option.
Keylor Navas Didn't Want to Betray Real Madrid
Although Barça was an option he didn't consider at this stage of his career, he seriously thought about it. But Keylor Navas was very clear that what he had experienced at Real Madrid was too beautiful to tarnish like that. At 38 years old, he wouldn't have been in the culer goal for long, but he would no longer have been well received by Santiago Bernabéu.
To all this, it must be added that the salary offered wasn't too high, so it wasn't a very real possibility. Keylor Navas is now living his last years of his career in Argentina, away from the media spotlight and eager to keep doing things well.