World Cup and Euro winner, Spain’s Jesus Navas announces retirement from international football

Navas released a statement on social media thanking the staff, his teammates, coaches and fans of the national team, and wished everyone well for the future.

Sevilla’s Jesus Navas with Spain’s Euro 2024 trophy. | Photo Credit: AP

After 15 years of donning the La Roja kit, Jesus Navas has announced his official retirement from international football through a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Navas recently won the Euro with Spain and was the only remaining player in the team from the legendary 2010 World Cup winning squad.

The 38-year-old started against Spain’s win against France in the Euro 2024 semifinal which was his last appearance for country. He had made his debut in 2009 and won the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Euro Cup.

Navas released a statement on social media thanking the staff, his teammates, coaches and fans of the national team, and wished everyone well for the future.

Navas started his statement with, “I have said it on many occasions and I will repeat it again: the greatest thing is to defend my country.”

Spain is set to release a new squad for the upcoming tournaments soon and Navas knows his time at the highest level is up.

“The dream and the memories will remain intact, as will the pride of having made so many people happy. But this time Luis de la Fuente will no longer name me. A cycle that began fifteen years ago is coming to a close, with a lot of joy that filled us with pride and excitement,” he continued.

Navas has also said that this will be his last season with his club Sevilla after which he will be retired from all levels of professional football.