Jesús Navas


Jesús Navas González is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right winger or a right back for Sevilla and the Spanish national team. His main assets are his speed, dribbling skills, and ability to run at opposing defenders.
He has spent the vast majority of his career with Sevilla, playing over 550 official matches and winning six major titles, including two UEFA Cups and two Copas del Rey. In 2013 he signed for Manchester City, where he won the 2013–14 Premier League; he re-joined the former in 2017, breaking the club record for most competitive appearances.
A Spanish international since 2009, Navas helped his country win the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, earning over 40 caps and scoring five goals.

Club career

Sevilla

Born in Los Palacios y Villafranca, Province of Seville, Navas joined Sevilla's youth system at age 15. In the 2003–04 season, he made his first-team debut when he played 12 minutes in a 0–1 loss at Espanyol on 23 November 2003, and added four more appearances before the league was over, none complete; in 2004–05 he was permanently promoted to the main squad, scoring two goals from 22 games and, on 3 May 2005, his link to the club was extended until 2010.
In 2005–06, Navas once again impressed, being a crucial element as the Andalusians claimed victory in that campaign's UEFA Cup. He appeared in all 12 matches in the tournament, including the final against Middlesbrough. A deal was arranged for a transfer to Chelsea in August 2006, but the player declined the move citing possible homesickness. In the league, he was consistently listed in the best players' ranks, entering the 'Top 50' of Don Balón magazine each year since 2005.
For the next three years, Navas continued to be a regular for Sevilla, always being his team top assister while adding nine league goals combined. He also helped them to the 2008 edition of the Copa del Rey, and to the third place in the following season's domestic championship.
Navas was ever present in the 2009–10 campaign, appearing in more than 50 official games and leading the league in decisive passes. On 19 May 2010, he scored the second goal in a 2–0 victory in the final of the Copa del Rey against Atlético Madrid.
Navas' 2010–11 season was greatly undermined by injury, as he appeared in less than half of the matches for Sevilla. On 13 March 2011, he scored through a rare header in a 1–1 home draw against eventual champions Barcelona, for one of only two competitive goals.

Manchester City

On 4 June 2013, after speculation concerning Navas' future, Sevilla confirmed on its official website that he was leaving the club with the expectation of joining Premier League side Manchester City. The transfer, reportedly valued at £14.9 million, was completed seven days later; the player said "this is the right moment for me to take this step. I'm very happy with the opportunity and the decision."
Navas made his league debut on 19 August 2013, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 home win against Newcastle United. He scored his first two goals in the competition for his new team on 24 November in a 6–0 home rout of Tottenham Hotspur.
On 2 March 2014, Navas scored City's third goal in the League Cup final as they defeated Sunderland 3–1 to win the tournament. He appeared in 48 games across all competitions in his first season, helping the club win the fourth national championship in its history.
Navas returned to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium on 3 November 2015, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 win in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and assisting Wilfried Bony in the last goal. In the League Cup final, he came on as a substitute and scored one of the penalties in the shootout in a victory over Liverpool.
Late in the 2016–17 campaign, Navas was reconverted by new manager Pep Guardiola into a right back, and from that position he contributed with two decisive passes in a 3–1 home success against Hull City on 8 April 2017. On 25 May, Manchester City announced he would be leaving the club.

Return to Sevilla

On 1 August 2017, Sevilla announced the return of Navas to his previous club through a video. He signed a four-year contract and was awarded the number 16 shirt previously worn by the late Antonio Puerta, who was a close friend.
During his second spell, Navas continued to occasionally appear at right back. On 20 September 2017, he celebrated his 400th competitive appearance for the club by scoring the only goal of the 1–0 home win over Las Palmas, and he surpassed Pablo Blanco's record of 416 matches when he came off the bench against Levante on 16 December.
Navas was made team captain ahead of the 2018–19 season. On 18 October 2018, the board of directors of Sevilla agreed to rename the main stadium of the Ciudad Deportiva José Ramón Cisneros Palacios as Estadio Jesús Navas in recognition of his professional career.
On 3 January 2020, Navas became the first player to reach 500 appearances in all competitions for Sevilla, when he started in a 1–1 draw against Athletic Bilbao.

International career

After breaking into the Sevilla first team, Navas made his debut for the Spanish under-21s, scoring in a 1–1 draw against France on 17 August 2004. He had been remarked as a potential star after good performances for club and country, but his anxiety problems forced him to quit international football. In August 2009, he announced his desire to overcome his condition in order to stake his claim in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and made himself available for selection, stating: "To play for your country is the greatest thing and I hope to be able to, too. I have to be calm and make my decision. I have to continue taking the right steps."
On 9 November 2009, Navas was called up by coach Vicente del Bosque for friendlies with Argentina and Austria. On 14 November he made his debut against the former in a 2–1 win in Madrid, playing the final ten minutes in the place of Andrés Iniesta; four days later, he featured the entire second half in a 5–1 win over the latter in Vienna.
Called up for the World Cup final stages in South Africa, Navas scored his first goal as an international on 3 June 2010 in a warm-up friendly with South Korea, netting the game's only goal four minutes from time. In the tournament itself he appeared in three matches, including 30 minutes plus extra time in the final against the Netherlands as Spain lifted its first FIFA World Cup trophy.
Navas was also selected for UEFA Euro 2012, where he appeared in several games for the eventual champions as a substitute. On 18 June 2012, he scored the game's only goal in the 87th minute of the last group stage fixture against Croatia, handing Spain the first place in Group C: he netted from point-blank range, following an assist by Iniesta.
Picked for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, Navas making three appearances from the bench. On 27 June, in the semi-finals against Italy, he scored the decisive penalty in the shootout.
Navas was one of seven players cut from Spain's final squad for the 2014 World Cup, alongside City teammate Álvaro Negredo. On 15 March 2019, after almost six years of absence from international duty, the 33-year-old returned to the national setup for Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Norway and Malta to be held late in that month.

Personal life

Navas' older brother, Marco, was also a footballer and a midfielder. After also graduating from Sevilla's youth academy he amassed three first-team appearances, but played mainly in Segunda División. Their family was of Gitano/Romani origin.
Navas suffered from chronic homesickness, to the extent he walked out of training camps within Spain because they were too far away from Seville. He also suffered from anxiety attacks and seizures, and initially refused to travel with Sevilla during pre-season to the United States due to his homesickness, later changing his mind in a bid to rid himself of this condition.

Career statistics

Club

Notes

International

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
13 June 2010Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck, Austria1–01–0Friendly
218 June 2012PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland1–01–0UEFA Euro 2012
310 September 2013Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland2–22–2Friendly
47 June 2019Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands2–04–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
515 November 2019Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz, Spain7–07–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying

Honours

Club

Sevilla
Manchester City
Spain