SOCCER

The reason why PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas didn’t sign for Napoli

Cristian Giuntoli, the director of the Serie A side, explained why the negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain failed to lead to a deal for Navas.

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Keylor Navas will have to wait for an opportunity to stake his claim for the starting role at Paris Saint-Germain, after he failed to find a club this summer in his search for more minutes. The Ligue 1 side club informed the Costa Rica international that Gianluigi Donnarumma will be the starter across all competitions this year and it was best for him to sign for another club.

Keylor Navas failed transfer

The Saprissa product is considered one of the best goalkeepers in Europe in the last decade, but has struggled to find consistency in each club that he plays. Before the end of the transfer window it was expected that Navas would join Napoli on a season-long loan, with PSG paying half of his salary.

The Serie A side were keen on making the former Real Madrid goalkeeper their number one in place David Ospina, who left earlier in the summer. In the end, however, the negotiations fell through with the Ligue 1 club and Napoli’s director, Cristian Giuntoli, explained the reasons why that happened.

We’ve a great relationship with PSG. They wanted Fabián Ruiz and we wanted Navas, so we tried to reach an agreement on a swap deal to resolve the two problems. The deal didn’t go through due to an issue between PSG and Keylor,” said Giuntoli.

Ruiz ended up signing for PSG for $30 million and the Spanish international has already made three appearances for the Parisians. Meanwhile, Navas is waiting to make his first appearance this season and will not be in peak form going into Costa Rica’s campaign at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

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