On Thursday, Sevilla announced that long-standing defender Jesus Navas would be leaving the club at the end of the season. The 38-year-old recently brought up 500 appearances for the Andalusians in La Liga, but he now only has two more chances to add to that before his 17-year stay in the first team comes to an end.

In their official statement, Sevilla stated that Navas has opted for a new challenge, although the player himself has now hit back at this claim using a statement of his own, which was released on X. The veteran right-back has said that he has no offers for next season, and that he is leaving because a contract proposal did not arrive from Los Nervionenses.

“Only my closest friends know how difficult it was for me to think about a way out, because this is my Sevilla. I never got a call from the club to extend the contract. Not even one. Zero calls. And it’s even more painful to face this fact that after the club communicated that I didn’t wait (for them), so let’s see… I’ve always heard that I could be here as long as I wanted, but no one has cleared up any doubts that at the end of the season there would be that call that confirmed my continuity.

“I’m ending up with a painful issue. They’ve said I’m leaving for a better offer, but if it had been for that I wouldn’t have been here for pretty much my entire career. I don’t have a team either because I want to focus body and soul on Spain (for Euro 2024).”

It’s clear to see that Navas would dearly have loved to stay on at Sevilla, although his chances of doing so now appear to be over. His final match will be next weekend when Barcelona come to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, and it promises to be an emotional occasion.