Keylor Navas is a Costa Rican professional footballer currently playing for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Costa Rica national team. He is married to former Costa Rican model, Andrea Salas and has three children; two of which came from his wife’s former marriage.
The former Levante and Real Madrid shot-stopper who has a net worth of $13 million, debuted for his country in 2008 and has appeared in 100 matches.
Navas has been described as an energetic goalkeeper who is agile and has good speed. He is said to be very brave and skillful and he maintains his concentration on the game all the time.
Biography Of Keylor Navas
Keilor Antonio Navas Gamboa better known as Keylor Navas was born on December 15, 1986, in San Isidro de El General, Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica. He was raised by his parents, Freddy Navas and Sandra Gamboa in a poor family in San Isidro de el General in a devout Christian family.
The 38-year-old has two sisters, Keilyn Navas and Kimberly Navas.
Is He Married?
Keylor Navas is married to Andreas Salas. They got married in December 2009 in the presence of their loved ones.
Their love story started a year before the marriage when the couple met during a church service, where they were both mid-week worshippers at an evangelical church in Santa Ana.
From the first instance, the couple already had mutual feelings for each other. One day, after church service, they both agreed to take a photo shoot, and that marked the beginning of their lovely union.
The couple has three children; Daniela Navas Salas, Mateo Navas Salas, and Thiago Navas. It was reported that Daniela and Mateo are from Andreas’ marriage in the past.
Keylor Navas Professional Career
Club career
Navas began his career when he signed with Albacete Balompie of the Segunda Division in Spain. He played in 36 games during his first season but his team finished in the last position and suffered relegation.
He was loaned to Levante UD for a year during the 2011-12 campaign. He won the hearts of his coaches and became the first-choice goalkeeper for the team during the 2013-14 season.
Navas gained the attention of many clubs including Real Madrid. He was then offered a €10 million buyout clause which he accepted. he signed a six-year contract with the club in August 2014
He made his Champions League debut on 26 November 2014, and he was able to keep a clean sheet in a 0-1 away win. His impressive performance later earned him the dual distinction of the first Costa Rican and goalkeeper to win the Player of the Year at the 2014 CONCACAF Awards.
The goalkeeper marked his 100 appearances for Real Madrid on 6 April 2019 making him the first-ever non-Spanish goalkeeper to reach 100.
0n September 2, 2019, Navas became the first Costa Rican to play for the Paris Saint-Germain men’s team. After he signed a four-year contract he made his debut 12 days later.
Navas won his 20th career club trophy after beating Saint Etienne in the Coupe de France final.
His contract for PSG was renewed on April 26 2021 and it would expire in 2024.
International career
Keylor Navas has played for both the senior and junior national teams. He was called up for the senior national team in August 2006 and he became a member of the team that won a bronze medal at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games.
He made his debut in the FIFA World Cup on 14 June 2014 in a 3-1 group stage win against Uruguay. He earned several names and titles for his outstanding performances during the competition.
Navas was named in the final squad for the 2018 World Cup in May 2018 and he started the competition well by making 10 saves and conceding five goals.
He has been rated by several pundits as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Navas revealed in 2020 that Lester Morgan was his goalkeeping idol.
How Rich is Keylor Navas?
The Costa Rican goalkeeper has achieved so much in his career despite his background. He has continued to prove his worth through his performance on the pitch. Key Navas currently has a net worth of about $13 million as of September 2022.
He currently earns around $70, 000 per week and $4 million annually. He also earns a huge fortune from his endorsement deals.
Navas’ current transfer market value is €6 million as of September 2022. His contract with PSG would expire on June 30, 2024.
Here are 7 Other Facts about Keylor Navas
1. Keylor Navas faced a series of rejection
While growing up, Navas could not join his native town team because he was seen as physically weak with an unsatisfactory height. He got lucky in 1995 when he was accepted by his homeland club, Deportivo Saprissa.
2. His father helped him nurture his career
When Keylor Navas was young, his parents left him and his younger sister and began their journey to the American borders in search of greener pastures.
Navas and his baby sister were left behind because of the danger of the journey and so they stayed with their maternal grandparents. Even though his parents later regretted their actions, they left some money for their son to be enrolled in Pedregosso soccer school.
Freddy Navas saw that his son had an interest in football since when he was five so he took it upon himself to keep pushing and supporting him in any way possible.
Navas’ father helped him nurture and manage his career to the point he is today.
3. His wife is a former Costa Rican model
Andreas Salas is a former Costa Rican model and beauty queen. She ended her modeling career after she got married to the goalkeeper.
Salas was formerly married with two children before it ended in a divorce.
4. Keylor Navas shaved his hair to show support for cancer patients
In 2017, after Navas won a LaLiga he celebrated his victory by shaving his head to show support to children all over the world who were battling cancer.
5. The goalkeeper is a committed Christian
Navas is described as a committed and God-fearing Christian. According to the goalkeeper, he puts God first in everything he does. He once revealed in an interview that before every game, he prays to God.
He also shared that his favorite passage of the Bible is Galatians 1:10 which says “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ”.
6. He is quite Tall
Keylor Navas is 6 feet 1 inch (185cm/1.85m) tall. As a goalkeeper, his height is advantageous in front of the goal. His body weigh is 80kg (176lbs).
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7. Career awards and honors
Navas has the following individual awards and honors to his name
- CONCACAFGold Cup Best Goalkeeper: 2009
- La Liga Player of the Month: March 2014
- UNFP Player of the Month: March 2021
- ESM Team of the Year: 2015-16
- IFFHS CONCACAF Best Man Player of the Decade: 2011-2020
- UNFP Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2020-21
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2020-21
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