Is Rafael Nadal being lined up as a future Real Madrid president?
Rafael Nadal is again being linked with a senior boardroom position at Real Madrid, with the club’s current President Florentino Perez suggesting he could one day fill his shoes as the chief decision maker at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid fanatic Nadal has stated that he would be interested in a senior position at the club when his tennis career ends, and now Perez has stated his belief that the current world No.1 would be a fine leader for his club.
“Nadal would be a magnificent choice for the presidency of Real Madrid,” Perez told el Confidential. “He is one of the best ambassadors of Real Madrid in the world. He would be great for the club.”
Nadal admitted last year that the prospect of being Real Madrid president appealed to him, as he suggested his love for football may offer him a fresh career path in retirement.
“You never know what will happen. Everybody knows that I love football and that Real Madrid is my team,” Nadal told AS.
“Talking about that now is a bit of a utopia but if you ask me, of course I would like to be president. In any case, we’re doing just fine as we are, we have a great president and I don’t think Real Madrid need me for anything.”
The comments have sparked suspicions that Nadal has expressed an interest in getting involved at Real Madrid, with his status as one of the greatest sportsmen in Spanish history ensuring he will not be short of offers of ambassadorial work when his days on the court end.
Nadal’s withdrawal from his US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Porto after a recurrence of the knee injury that has troubled him for many years has again cast some doubt of his short and long-term future in tennis, with the Majorca superstar yet to confirm when he will be back on court.
He has already qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November and is embroiled in a battle with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to secure the year end world No 1 spot, yet Nadal will not rush back to action until the inflammation in his knee has subsided.
That may mean he misses the Asian swing of the ATP tour, where Federer and Djokovic will look to make up ground in race to finish 2018 as No 1.
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