Every time the doctor visits him in the morning, Francisco Xavier García Pimienta, Sevilla’s coach, starts to tremble. On Thursday, bad news arrived. “Mister, Jesús Navas has called me. He hasn’t slept all night and he won’t come to training,” said doctor Matías Morán. Navas, the 38-year-old Sevilla legend, has a chronic hip problem. On Friday, the veteran player arrived at training. “Mister, I’m better,” he told Pimienta. Navas had a very good training session and the Sevilla coach took note. On Saturday morning, during the pre-match talk against Getafe, Pimienta told Navas that he would start. “No problem, mister,” the veteran Sevilla captain told him.
The player from Palacio became the real protagonist of the Andalusian team’s long-suffering victory against Getafe (1-0). He scored the winning goal in the 23rd minute, was close to scoring the second and was a constant nuisance for the rival. It was a true miracle that he played at all. When he was substituted in the 66th minute, having had enough, the Sevilla fans forgot about the conflict with their leaders to bid him farewell with a huge crowd. Navas left with tears in his eyes. He had not scored with his team since February 2019, when he did so against Barcelona. With the Spanish national team, with which he has been world champion, European champion on two occasions and the League of Nations, he did so in November of that same year in a match against Malta (7-0).
“I have had a hip problem for four years which makes me play in pain. There are times when I can’t even play with the kids,” Navas himself said. The wear and tear suffered by the recent Euro Cup champion has no medical solution. It is a problem that grows in an athlete’s body because Jesús, at 38 years old, is still active. “Two days ago I couldn’t even move,” the player admitted.
The world champion made the decision last May to retire this December, aged 39. The player was worried about the lack of information from the club regarding his future, as his contract was up in June. He sent a harsh statement against the club and the president, José María del Nido Carrasco, reacted by offering him a contract in perpetuity. Navas decided that, for the moment, he will stay until December to lead the difficult transition of Sevilla. An entity that has gone from playing in the Champions League to fighting against relegation and in the midst of economic reconversion. The best example of its decline is its salary cap of 2.49 million, the lowest in the First Division. All after a slash of 60 million in its budget.
“We are going to try to convince him to stay,” admitted García Pimienta himself at the end of the match against Getafe. New players like Saúl, who has become important in just a couple of months, are surprised by the involvement of the captain, who wants to train every day despite the pain that blocks his hip. Saúl himself told him that he should rest while taking advantage of the international break. “I don’t want him to retire in December,” Saúl confessed to this newspaper.
Navas, with 506 caps, is the player who has played the most games for Sevilla and has won the most titles with the Andalusian team (eight). Those who know him well confirm his determination to retire in December. He made his debut with Sevilla almost 21 years ago, in November 2003. He has been with the Andalusian club for 18 seasons. In between, he played four seasons for Manchester City, from 2013 to 2017.
