Sunday’s match between Real Madrid and Sevilla is bound to be an emotional one, as it will see the final career appearance of Spanish football icon Jesus Navas. The 39-year-old is retiring at the end of 2024 because of a chronic hip injury, and having won his final match at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan last weekend, he will hope to end his playing days in similar fashion.
Ahead of the match kicking off, Real Madrid paid tribute to Navas by organising a guard of honour for him. The entirety of the Santiago Bernabeu was also upstanding for the veteran defender, as they paid their tributes.
Homenaje en el Santiago Bernabéu para Jesús Navas. 🫡
pic.twitter.com/l6NoFQ7GiY
— MT2 (@madrid_total2) December 22, 2024
🔊 Pasillo y ovación de gala del Bernabéu a Jesús Navas en su último partido.
👀 @jaimevelasco24 pic.twitter.com/owtRVZz3TN
— madridistaReal (@RMadridistaReal) December 22, 2024
Navas is an incredibly popular figure across Spanish football, and such a tribute is falling deserved. Real Madrid will be hoping to spoil the party of his final match as a professional footballer, but it is clear that they have so much respect for everything that he has done for Sevilla, and the national team too.