Rafael Nadal linked with huge Real Madrid role and Andy Roddick gives his verdict
Rafael Nadal is a huge football fan and his passion for Real Madrid could be taken to the next level if the rumours swirling around the tennis legend prove to be true.
The 22-time Grand Slam winning champion has football heritage in his family, with his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal enjoying a highly successful football career that included a long spell at Barcelona.
His even more successful young nephew is a massive Real Madrid fan and there are strong suggestions that he could be in line to become President of the Spanish soccer giants.
Real Madrid insiders have denied the rumors about current President Florentino Perez leaving any time soon, but Mundo Deportivo have reported that he may walk away from the club after overseeing the redevelopment of their Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
When the new stadium opens, there are suggestions that the 15th president of Real Madrid will consider who would be the best candidate to replace him.
With Nadal preparing to retire from tennis in 2024 if he can recover from an ongoing hip problem that has kept him off the court for most of this year, he may well be looking for new challenges beyond tennis soon.
In the opinion of former world No 1 Andy Roddick, the prospect of Nadal taking over as Real Madrid President would set his post-tennis pulse racing.
“John Elway did it with the Broncos but he also is a football player. But this is a surprise and it is fantastic if it happens,” Roddick told the Tennis Channel.
“I think that there would be some necessary on-the-job experience needed real quick, this will be really cool.
“I can’t pretend to know what will go on or what in the world he would have to learn but this is a surprising headline.”
Nadal commented on the prospect of becoming Real Madrid President back in 2017, when he offered up these comments El Mundo
“If you ask me if I would like it, of course I would, why not? But there is more to it,” he was quotes as saying.
“I think it will not be. We are very good as we are. We have a great president right now, and I don’t think Real Madrid needs me. But we never know what can happen in the future. It is not something I can raise today.”
Could we see the great Rafael Nadal leading Real Madrid in the future.
It would certainly be a surprise move for one of the all-time icons of Spanish sport and if he could bring his passion on the court into the boardroom at the Bernabéu, it could be an inspired move.
READ MORE: When will Rafael Nadal make a comeback? Here is what we know
