Former Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina has retired from football at 38, with the right elbow injury that wrecked his last three years finally forcing his hand.
The Colombian announced the decision in a video on his social media on Tuesday night, the same day he was applauded, and left in tears, at a private launch of a documentary about his career.
He leaves the game with more than 600 career appearances, 131 caps for Colombia, a level tally with James Rodríguez that makes them the country’s joint most-capped players, and two FA Cups from four years at Arsenal.
Why has David Ospina retired?
His body made the call. Ospina fractured his right elbow in January 2023 while playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, and that injury kept him out for about a year. It never fully settled.
His contract at Atlético Nacional ran out in June 2026, and on 20 July he signed for Atlante in Mexico. A relapse in training interrupted his preparation, and Atlante ended the deal early on 14 August after further physical problems. He never played a minute for them, and travelled to Spain for tests at the clinic where he had been operated on.
In his message, Ospina was honest about how little choice he had. “I’m not leaving because I want to, I’m doing it because I listen to my body, which is talking to me,” he said.
A thank you rather than a goodbye
The rest of the message was about gratitude. “To football I say thank you,” Ospina said, adding that the badges of his battles stay in his chest, and thanking every team that believed in his talent and his discipline.
James Rodríguez, Radamel Falcao, Luis Díaz and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado were among the Colombia teammates who sent him messages once the news was out.
Ospina’s Arsenal years: cups, Community Shields and the wait behind Cech
Ospina arrived in north London in 2014 after six seasons at Nice, and stayed until 2018. In that time he won two FA Cups and three Community Shields with the Gunners.
He was often second choice behind Petr Cech, but he was part of a squad that kept lifting cups. That makes him one of those players Gooners remember fondly: rarely the headline, but there when the trophies came.
His Arsenal exit came in stages. He first went to Napoli on loan in the summer of 2018, as we covered when Ospina joined SSC Napoli on loan, and the club were soon close to making that move permanent.
From Nacional to Nice, Naples and Saudi Arabia, then home
The career started and ended at Atlético Nacional. Ospina made his debut there on 5 February 2006, aged 17, and moved to France in 2008.
After Arsenal came four years at Napoli, where he won a cup, then Al-Nassr from 2022 to 2024 before he went back to Nacional, where he won two league titles and two Colombian Super Cups across his spells. His last match was on 23 May 2026, a 3-1 win over Deportes Tolima in a Liga BetPlay semi-final at the Atanasio Girardot, where he said an emotional goodbye to the home fans.
With Colombia he went to three World Cups. He started at Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, and was in the 2026 squad without playing.
What comes next?
Nothing is confirmed. According to Infobae, Atlético Nacional and the Colombian football federation are the likeliest places for his next role, though Ospina’s own message spoke only of gratitude and what lies ahead in life.
Verdict: a proper Arsenal servant bows out
Arsenal’s goalkeeping story has moved on a long way since Ospina’s day, with David Raya now talking about the pain of a Champions League final rather than an FA Cup run. But the two FA Cups Ospina helped win are still part of the club’s story, and that counts for a lot.
To bow out because an elbow simply would not heal is a harsh way to finish. For a keeper who reached 131 caps and kept going for two decades, it should not overshadow the career. Gracias, David.
