Rafael Nadal’s uncle has shared his retirement plans ahead of his farewell.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion recently announced that he will end his career at next month’s Davis Cup Finals. He will also play at a Saudi Arabia exhibition event this week.
While Nadal’s retirement was expected, the announcement still came as a surprise. But his uncle Toni already has an idea of what the 38-year-old will do when he hangs up his racket.
After spending the better part of two years sidelined by injuries, Nadal has finally given into his body and called time on his career. The former world No. 1 will represent Spain at next month’s Davis Cup in what will be his final appearance as a professional tennis player.
Nadal has yet to address what he will do after retiring but his uncle and ex-coach believes he will remain involved with sport and could even take his dream role at Real Madrid.
“If they offer him the position of director of Madrid, he will surely say yes,” Toni told Marca.
“He likes football, but he doesn’t understand why my team, which is Barca, touches it, passes it… He has his life focused, he has an academy and he will get more involved.”
Last year, Nadal admitted he would love to succeed Florentino Perez as president of his beloved football club. “I think I’d like to. But there are a lot of things. Right now there’s nothing to say because we have the best possible president,” he told Movistar.
But he questioned whether he was the right man for the job. To meet the criteria for Real Madrid presidency, you must be a Spanish national, have been a member for 20 years and obtain a bank guarantee worth at least 15 per cent of the club’s budget.
Nadal added: “What I think today, I might not think tomorrow. There are lots of twists and turns in life. You have to know if you’re qualified to do this kind of thing. I’m quite realistic. I know my limitations.
“I don’t know if I’d be capable or not. Time will tell. I haven’t asked [Perez] about it. I think you [the media] get carried away. I don’t think I fulfil the requirements.”
But the 92-time title winner will certainly remain involved in tennis. He has a Rafa Nadal Academy in his home of Manacor, Mallorca plus centres and programmes in Mexico, Greece, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Egypt.
Nadal also signed a deal to become an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation earlier this year. He’s set to open one of his academies in Saudi Arabia and will compete in the Six Kings Slam exhibition this week as part of Riyadh Season.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk