David Ospina Retires at 38: ‘I’m Not Leaving Because I Want to — I Have To’
David Ospina, one of the most important goalkeepers in Colombian football history, has announced his retirement from professional football at age 38, ending a career that spanned two decades, five countries and 131 appearances for the Colombia national team. The announcement came in a video message in which Ospina said the decision was forced on him by a chronic right-elbow injury, not by choice. “I’m not leaving because I want to; I’m leaving because I have to,” he said.
In the same message, Ospina thanked the people who accompanied him, the clubs that believed in him and the Colombian national team, telling football: “I say thank you to the game. In my chest remain the crests of a thousand battles.”
The Elbow Injury That Ended the Career
The injury that ultimately ended Ospina’s playing days dates to January 2023, when he fractured his right elbow while playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. The fracture kept him out of competition for nearly a year, and it never fully healed.
After returning to Atlético Nacional in July 2024 — the club where he made his professional debut — Ospina won the league title, the Copa Colombia and the Superliga that season. When his contract ended, he signed with Atlante of Mexico’s Liga MX, but a relapse of the elbow problem meant he never debuted for the Potros. Atlante paused the contract while Ospina was evaluated, and that the departure was agreed mutually, with the club waiting on the evolution of the injury. The Mexican chapter ended before it began.
Ospina had said as recently as May that he was not yet thinking about retiring and would analyze his options after the World Cup. The relapse made that decision for him.
From Medellín to Europe at 17
Ospina made his professional debut at 17 on Feb. 5, 2006, in goal for Atlético Nacional. He won league titles with the club in the 2007 Apertura and Clausura tournaments. Two days after his 18th birthday, on Feb. 7, 2007, he earned his senior Colombia debut in a friendly against Uruguay in Cúcuta — the same day Radamel Falcao made his own national-team debut.
In 2008 he moved to Europe with OGC Nice in France, where he became a fixture and played 199 matches, the most of any club in his career. In 2014 he joined Arsenal, where he never became the undisputed No. 1 but delivered when called upon, playing 70 matches over more than four years and winning two FA Cups and two Community Shields.
BREAKING: David Ospina has officially announced his retirement from professional football. He made 130 caps during his career, becoming the 2nd most capped Colombian player of all time and the most capped Colombian goalkeeper. Gracias David! 🇨🇴🧤 pic.twitter.com/uHtHuLzrdb
Loaned to Napoli in 2018, he played so well that the Italian club signed him permanently for a reported fee of nearly 4 million euros. He made 103 appearances for Napoli, his second-most for any club, and won the 2019–20 Coppa Italia. In 2022 he moved to Al Nassr, where he managed only 29 appearances before the elbow fracture.
The National Team Record
With Colombia, Ospina was part of the team’s best World Cup run to date, reaching the quarterfinals at Brazil 2014. He and James Rodríguez share the record for most appearances for the national team with 131 caps each.
What He Won
Ospina’s honors span three countries and two spells at Nacional:
- Atlético Nacional: Colombian league titles in both of his spells (including the 2007 Apertura and Clausura and the 2024 Finalización), two Copa Colombia titles and one Superliga.
- Arsenal: FA Cups in 2014–15 and 2016–17, plus Community Shields in 2014 and 2017.
- Napoli: Coppa Italia in 2019–20.
Why This Retirement Hits Differently
Plenty of goalkeepers play into their late 30s; Ospina’s exit at 38 is not unusual by age alone. The elbow injury, first suffered in January 2023 and recurring the moment he tried to return, left him no alternative. As he put it in his farewell video: “I’m leaving because I listen to my body, which is speaking to me.”
