Real Madrid turned down the chance to reunite with former goalkeeper Keylor Navas when the Costa Rican offered his services after Thibaut Courtois suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Belgian stopper Courtois tore his ACL in August and required surgery, leaving Los Blancos scouring the market for another custodian between the sticks.
Madrid eventually moved for Kepa Arrizabalaga, signing the Spanish goalkeeper on loan from Chelsea, but MARCA claimed former number one Navas reached out to discuss a return to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Navas won three consecutive Champions Leagues with Madrid as Zinedine Zidane’s favoured goalkeeper after joining from Levante in 2014, making 162 appearances in total.
He also won La Liga in 2016/17 before signing for PSG in 2019.
The 37-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with Nottingham Forest but returned to Paris Saint-Germain, where he has been ousted in the starting XI by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Navas appeared in a handful of pre-season friendlies but has been out of action with a back injury since October. Donnarumma was recently suspended and former Barcelona academy star Arnau Tenas has impressed as his replacement.
Navas will likely look for a PSG exit during the January transfer window, but Madrid aren’t expected to pursue a deal having conceded only 11 La Liga goals so far this season. Only Inter (eight) and Nice (nine) have let in fewer in Europe’s top five leagues in 2023/24.
Courtois is expected to miss the rest of the season and also Euro 2024, recently admitting he won’t be ready to travel to Germany with Belgium.
He told Sporza: “Due to the injury, there will be no European Championship for me anyway.
“If I’m lucky, I can play another match in May. But then you can never be 100 per cent ready for a big tournament.”
Kepa has impressed as Courtois’ replacement, keeping six clean sheets in 11 league games, while third-choice Andriy Lunin has also handled himself when called upon both domestically and in Europe.
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