Rafael Nadal has joked that Andy Murray is an “a**hole” after the Brit taunted him over his beloved football club, Real Madrid. Murray is an Arsenal fan, so when the Gunners beat Real Madrid in the Champions League last season, he jumped at the opportunity to rub it in Nadal’s face.
Both men retired from professional tennis last year and are enjoying spending more time at home with their families. While Murray has already returned to the tennis tour, coaching Novak Djokovic earlier this year, Nadal has yet to pick up a racket since ending his career. However, the Spaniard may be considering a future in football.
Throughout his career, Nadal was known for prioritising Real Madrid’s fixtures even while competing at tournaments. The Spaniard went to great lengths to watch their games in different time zones, even visiting sports bars to keep up with the action.
He was also spotted at the 2022 Champions League final despite being in the middle of the French Open, and he still went on to lift the trophy at Stade-Roland Garros a few days later.
Nadal has often been floated as a potential future candidate to succeed Florentino Perez as Real Madrid president. His uncle and former coach, Toni, previously suggested his nephew would be up for the role.
The 22-time Major winner doesn’t sound as certain as his uncle Toni, but he’s still not ruling out the possibility of one day being the club’s president.
“I don’t think so, but maybe – you never know in the future, you never know, and we need to wait for that,” Nadal told The Athletic.
President or not, Nadal remains an avid supporter of Real Madrid and is backing them to come top of the league this season. “Why not?” he asked.
And the 39-year-old will no doubt be keen to see the team win the Champions League again after losing to Arsenal in the quarter-final last season – especially after Murray texted Nadal to taunt him seconds after the game ended.
“He’s an a**hole,” Nadal laughed, recalling his messages with the two-time Olympic champion.
Nadal and Murray reunited at Roland Garros earlier this year, when 14-time champion Nadal was honoured in a special ceremony. Murray wasn’t the only old rival to turn up, as Roger Federer and Djokovic also took to the court to pay tribute to the Spaniard and his achievements.
Afterwards, Nadal participated in a special press conference, during which he revealed that Murray had been texting him about football.
“The day that Arsenal beat Real Madrid, when the match just finished, after one second, he text me a message. ‘Hey, Rafa, haven’t spoken to you in a while. Just checking in to make sure you are okay’,” he said.
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