During a professional career which spanned 25 years, he represented teams in Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay, appearing for 15 clubs (mainly Boca Juniors) and totalling more than 800 games across all competitions.

Nicknamed El Mono (monkey) whilst in Argentina, Navarro Montoya was born in Medellín, Colombia, and he started playing professionally in the former country at only 18, with Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield.

[1] In January 1997, aged almost 31, Montoya joined CF Extremadura in La Liga, suffering relegation with that and his following two teams, CP Mérida and CD Tenerife, also in the first division.

[4] In 1998 FIFA relented and allowed the player a special dispensation to play for Argentina but, at the age of 32, he was considered too old and never represented his adopted nation.

[6] On 23 September 2020 he took over the Club Deportivo Guadalajara of the Tercera División in Spain,[7] but was dismissed on 24 November after only five league games.