Keilor Antonio Navas Gamboa (born 15 December 1986), known as Keylor Navas, is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Costa Rica national team. Often considered one of the world's best goalkeepers, the best in the history of CONCACAF, and one of the best in the history of Latin America, Navas has also won numerous individual awards. He was named CONCACAF Men's Goalkeeper of the Year for three consecutive years between 2016 and 2018. He was also named the best male CONCACAF Player of the Decade 2011–2020 by the IFFHS. His performances in the 2017–18 season earned him the 2017–18 UEFA Club Football Award for best UEFA goalkeeper, and also saw him named in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season of 2018.
Navas started his youth career at Saprissa in his home country, where he won six Liga FPD titles and the CONCACAF Champions League, he subsequently moved to Spanish club Albacete in 2010, and then to Levante in La Liga the following year, where he won the LFP Award for Best Goalkeeper in his final season with the latter club. Navas later joined Real Madrid in 2014 for €10 million. He won a total of twelve titles with Real Madrid, including one La Liga title and three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles as the first choice goalkeeper. In 2019, he was signed by French club Paris Saint-Germain.
Navas has made over 100 appearances for Costa Rica since making his debut in 2008. He has represented the country at two CONCACAF Gold Cups and the 2014 and 2018 editions of the FIFA World Cup. He was a member of the Costa Rica national team that reached the semi-finals of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which he was named best goalkeeper. His impressive performances also helped the team reach the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup.
Often rated by several pundits as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and considered by some in the sport as the best in the history of CONCACAF, Navas is an energetic keeper, who is primarily known for his agility, speed, and athleticism in goal, as well as his quick reflexes and excellent shot-stopping ability, which enables him to compensate for his relative lack of height. He has also drawn praise in the media for his decisive performances in important matches, and his penchant for producing difficult and crucial saves for his team in key moments. In 2017, former goalkeeper Manuel Almunia praised Navas, describing him as "the prototype model" goalkeeper, also adding: "He's spectacular between the posts, he's brave, skillful and very agile. He maintains his concentration and he's also intelligent... For me he deserves all the respect he gets for what he's done."
In 2020, Navas cited compatriot Lester Morgan as his goalkeeping idol. |
