Having shared a dressing room with footballing royalty at both Madrid and PSG, Navas has a unique perspective on greatness. The veteran goalkeeper spent years guarding the net behind Ronaldo in Spain before playing alongside Messi and Kylian Mbappe in France. Yet, when asked to identify the individual with the most natural ability, Navas looked past the multiple Ballon d’Or winners.
The “Flying Tico” revealed that Neymar is the player who truly blew him away on the training pitch and during matchdays. Despite the historic resumes of Messi and Ronaldo, Navas pointed to the Brazilian’s unpredictable flair and two-footed mastery as the traits that set him apart from every other teammate he has encountered across his two decades at the top level.
“We are talking about great stars and the best of the last decades, but due to talent on the field, Neymar impacted me a lot,” Navas told AS. “He did what he wanted with the ball, it didn’t matter if it was with the left or with the right. When I saw him in the games I felt that it was like when I played with my children. Ney is an incredible player.”
