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Real Madrid: Top Five Transfers of the Decade

By Ali Al Hassan

UEFA Champions League logo and a badge commemorating the nine trophies won on an away shirt on sale in the club shop at the Santiago Bernabeu the home stadium of Real Madrid (Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)
UEFA Champions League logo and a badge commemorating the nine trophies won on an away shirt on sale in the club shop at the Santiago Bernabeu the home stadium of Real Madrid (Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas poses during his official presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on August 5, 2014. Navas, one of the stars of this year’s World Cup, has completed his move to Real Madrid from Levante, and will be contracted to the club for the next six years who reportedly paid10 million-euro ($13.4m, £8m) for a release clause in Navas’ contract. AFP PHOTO / GERARD JULIEN (Photo credit should read GERARD JULIEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas poses during his official presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on August 5, 2014. Navas, one of the stars of this year’s World Cup, has completed his move to Real Madrid from Levante, and will be contracted to the club for the next six years who reportedly paid10 million-euro ($13.4m, £8m) for a release clause in Navas’ contract. AFP PHOTO / GERARD JULIEN (Photo credit should read GERARD JULIEN/AFP via Getty Images) /

3. Keylor Navas
(Levante to Real Madrid – August 2014)

Once I narrowed down my top transfers of the decade, I was a little surprised to see that there is only one player in all five who is no longer part of Real Madrid and that man is Keylor Navas, who was Real’s goalkeeper during the historic Champions League dominance and was a massive part of the team who instilled fear into their European opponents. The Costa Rican now stands in goal for Paris Saint-Germain after moving to France last summer with Real Madrid opting to use Thibaut Courtois instead of him.

Before moving to Paris for 15 Million Euros, Keylor Navas made history in goal for Real Madrid. He joined Los Merengues in 2014 from Levante for 10 million euros after his heroics during the FIFA World Cup, and even though there were many who didn’t believe in the signing, he has gone on to defy all odds time and time again. He continues to do so at 32 years of age with PSG as their starting goalkeeper.

All of his major accolades have come during his time with Real Madrid, as he is now a three-time Champions League and UEFA Super Cup winner and a four-time FIFA Club World Cup winner in addition to winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey once each.

With Navas in goal, a Madridista was always at ease. He had the ability to pull out saves from absolutely nowhere while ensuring that he was always at the top of his game. The respect he had for everyone and the respect he received were indications for how he was on and off the pitch. Keylor Navas is a goalkeeper who was criminally underrated by almost everyone but the Real Madrid fans who saw his true value from day one.

During his time at the club, the Costa Rican made 162 appearances and conceded 159 goals. That in itself should show how valuable he was to Real Madrid. During that time, he was also able to keep 52 clean sheets in all competitions and cemented his name as one of the Real Madrid greats. As someone who was the official replacement for the legendary Iker Casillas, he really made the impact of the change look a lot easier and much less painful than it would have been.

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