After finishing his contract with PSG once the previous season ended, he started the current season in Europe without signing with any team and, finally, arrived in Argentina to sign with Newell’s. However, he himself admitted that he had the option to return to Spain and sign with a FC Barcelona that reached out to him to take Ter Stegen's spot.

Why did Keylor Navas reject Barcelona?

The desperation at Barcelona was at its peak back then, as Ter Stegen suffered a serious injury at the end of September, and Barcelona couldn't go to the market to find a replacement. It was then that they started looking through the market of free agents for the best option... and they identified that Keylor Navas was the right name to fill the position.

This was confirmed by Keylor Navas himself in an interview given to ‘El Larguero’ during the night yesterday. "In my case, I saw it as something beautiful that the team, which was a rival for so long, seeing me always as a white player, considers me as an option, it’s very nice, and it's a compliment this interest.” However, his love and respect for the Real Madrid jersey made him decline the offer from Barcelona. "If instead of Barcelona, Florentino Pérez had called me, I would have swum if necessary."

Keylor Navas praised Szczesny

The truth is that it was the most logical option for Barcelona from a sporting perspective, as Keylor Navas can boast of being a goalkeeper with an impressive career. Especially at Real Madrid, where he arrived in 2014 as a backup to Iker Casillas... and ended up becoming the starting goalkeeper for the three consecutive Champions League titles Real Madrid won between 2016 and 2018 with Zinedine Zidane on the bench.

Who knows what would have happened if Keylor Navas had decided to ‘betray’ Real Madrid to continue his career in Europe. However, it’s probably a question that no one has asked in Barcelona, given the impressive level of Szczesny, whom Keylor also dedicated some kind words to. “One never forgets making a save, it all depends on the patience the team is willing to have to give you the opportunity.”