WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz wears retro Arsenal kit with iconic No 10 of Dennis Bergkamp on the back

Shahida Jacobs
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Carlos Alcaraz wears retro Arsenal kit
Carlos Alcaraz plays football in retro Arsenal top

Is Carlos Alcaraz a secret Arsenal fan?

Two-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz has been quite open about the fact that he is a massive Real Madrid fan, yet the Spaniard opted to wear a 1990s retro shirt from Premier League giants Arsenal during a traditional Christmas football match.

And he even went for the iconic No 10 of the great Dennis Bergkamp for the outing at his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero’s JC Ferrero Tennis Academy in Murcia, Spain.

Naturally, he sent Gunners fans into overdrive with his choice of shirt although he is a Madridista through and through as he often visits the Santiago Bernabéu when time allows.

According to Murcia journalist Germán R. Abril, Alcaraz was part of the student team that ended up winning the exhibition match with world No 101 Flavio Cobolli scoring the winning goal.

The 21-year-old Florence-born Cobolli, who competed at the recent Next Gen ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia, does have some football pedigree as he came through the youth ranks at Serie A giants AS Roma.

Carlos Alcaraz wears retro Arsenal kit
Carlos Alcaraz plays football in retro Arsenal top
Credit: Germán R. Abril on X

And Alcaraz wasn’t the only famous tennis player who joined Cobolli’s goal celebrations as former world No 10 Pablo Carreño Busta also went wild.

But Alcaraz and Cobolli didn’t just have fun on the football pitch as they also shared a training session earlier in the week.

“@flavio_cobbo 🇮🇹 is visiting us this week to continue his pre-season work! 🔨 Today he had an intense training with @carlitosalcarazz 🚀 Thank you Flavio for choosing us! We all hope you enjoy your time here with us! 😄,” the Ferrero Tennis Academy posted on Instagram.

And a few days later the Spaniard slugged it out with world No 4 Jannik Sinner as both rising stars stepped up their preparations for the 2024 tennis season.

It has already been confirmed that Alcaraz will not play any warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open with the season-opening Grand Slam set to be his first official event of the new campaign.

The 20-year-old will make only his third appearance at Melbourne Park next year as he missed this year’s hard-court major due to a hamstring injury sustained in training. His best performance came in 2022 when he reached the third round before losing a marathon five-setter against Matteo Berrettini.

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz tries to banish his demons against Jannik Sinner in pre-season training session

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