Ronaldo using contacts to secure Al-Nassr transfer amid Premier League interest
Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest are both monitoring a January move for Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who has been linked with a reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.
Navas won three Champions League titles alongside Ronaldo – who completed a stunning move to the Saudi Arabian club earlier this month – at Real Madrid between 2014 and 2018. The 37-year-old ended his second spell at Manchester United by mutual consent in November following a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
The two shared a close friendship in the Spanish capital with the Portuguese superstar keen to be reunited with the shot-stopper, who is behind Gianluigi Donnarumma in the PSG pecking order. However, Premier League duo Bournemouth and Forest also hold an interest.
Navas would reportedly earn €4million for the remainder of the campaign through wages if he were to join Al-Nassr while PSG are keen to secure a transfer fee this month for a goalkeeper who is out of contract at the end of the season.
The Costa Rican made 162 appearances across five seasons at Real Madrid, emerging as the successor to club legend Iker Casillas but whose status was reduced following the arrival of Thibaut Courtois in 2018.
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That move prompted Navas to join PSG the following year but after two seasons as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, he was once again downgraded following the club’s signing of Donnarumma. He is now keen to re-establish himself as a first-choice goalkeeper elsewhere.
Navas and Ronaldo won three Champions League titles together at Real Madrid (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)Have Your Say! Which club should Navas join this month? Tell us what you think here.
A report in L'Equipe outlines how it is not only Al-Nassr who are keeping tabs on Navas but two Premier League clubs; with Forest potentially needing a successor for Dean Henderson – whose loan deal from Manchester United expires this summer – while Bournemouth have switched between Mark Travers and Neto as goalkeeper this campaign.
Navas' admiration of Ronaldo could be seen when he lamented the Portuguese superstar's exit from the club in 2018 when he joined Juventus. The goalkeeper suggested Real Madrid were a weaker team without the player in their ranks.
"Cristiano left the bar very high at Real Madrid," Navas said, after a Champions League loss away to CSKA Moscow. "You cannot cover the sun with a finger. He made many goals while he was here, but it's already the past and we cannot live in the past."
Al-Nassr are on the market for a new goalkeeper after David Ospina, formerly of Arsenal, was ruled out for up to six weeks through an injury. Navas will be in Riyadh this month as PSG play a mixed team of Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal players in a friendly, with negotiations likely to accelerate.
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