FERNANDO NAVARRO: 'I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT SEVILLA AND THE CITY OF SEVILLE'

He announced last week that he was hanging up his boots and this Tuesday he had a call with SFC Radio to say his goodbyes to the fans that had the most significant impact on his career. It has only been a few days since Fernando Navarro made the decision: 'I'm calm because people have been asking me what I was going to do for two months. I had already made up my mind and it was just a matter of time to confirm that it was over. You can't really single out a date, it's a process and as you get older it's normal to think about the fact that you're getting closer to the end. It was well thought out without any trauma and I was the one who decided not to sacrifice my family for football any longer.'

He still isn't sure what his next step will be, as he needs more time to think about it: 'There are a lot of options, but everything is very recent and I don't want to rush into making any decisions. For better or worse, I like to think carefully about things and I need that time to reflect and to know where I'm going to put my chips down. I definitely want to dedicate time to my family because I like to enjoy the little things in life and the weekends.'

'I like to think carefully about things and I need that time to reflect and to know where I'm going to put my chips down'

Speaking of the football club, Navarro acknowledges that here he went through 'the most important stage in my career. You have to start somewhere and I was at Barcelona for twelve years, eventually getting to the first team. I went to Mallorca and then I moved to another big club like Sevilla, which has given me everything on a professional and personal level. My three children were born there and we were very happy. I can't say enough about Sevilla and the city of Seville.' Curiously, Sevilla had already been involved in a big turning point in his career, even before he arrived in the city: 'I suffered a setback when I was 19 years old because of a knee injury that kept me out for ten months. It was in an incident with Reyes and fate would have it that I would return and enjoy my best years there.'

'My three children were born in Seville and we were very happy. It has given me everything on a professional and personal level'

The city is special for him, hence his praises and memories are genuine: 'I'm a measured person and I don't like to express things that I don't actually feel. But for me, Sevilla is the place my three children were born and every year my sense of belonging there grew stronger. It was very difficult to make the decision to leave because we were doing very well, but Sevilla gave me stability and the chance to enjoy seven years at the top level, getting to know many cities and many people. I enjoyed a unique footballing environment there.'

Moving from the past to the present, Navarro also wanted to speak about the current Sevilla team: 'The team is finding itself and it's working with a different methodology to that of recent years. There are changes in personnel and people have to realise that they are not playing for just any other team. Sevilla is a state of mind and I hope that they will be up there fighting for titles and have a good season.'