Rafael Nadal made his first appearance on Wednesday, just eight days after he officially retired from professional tennis at the Davis Cup Finals.
The former world No. 1 is already making the most of his extra free time, flying to the UK for a mini tour of Premier League clubs.
Despite being a long-time Real Madrid fan, Nadal showed that he also had loyalties to Pep Guardiola as he visited the Manchester City manager and some players during his trip.
Last Tuesday, Nadal was in tears as he immediately entered retirement when Spain suffered defeat in their Davis Cup quarter-final tie. The Spaniard addressed the crowd and got emotional when he watched a tribute video with messages from his rivals and colleagues.
But just a week later, the 22-time Grand Slam champion has already moved on and is enjoying the newfound freedom of retirement, heading to the City Football Academy and to Anfield on the same day.
Manchester City took to social media to share snaps of Nadal visiting Guardiola and embracing him in a hug on Wednesday. The Spaniard also posed for photos with Erling Haaland, Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish.
The club said Nadal received a “warm welcome” from the squad and was congratulated on his glittering career after hanging up his racket. While he is a huge Real Madrid fan, the 38-year-old also has a special relationship with the Man City boss.
During his playing days, Guardiola was signed to Barcelona at the same time as Nadal’s uncle Miguel Angel, with the pair sharing a dressing room.
When Nadal announced his retirement last month, the renowned manager admitted he was “a little sad” and added: “I think it happened because he saw that he cannot be or compete in the level that he had been for two decades.”
Guardiola also used Nadal as an example while discussing City’s injury woes earlier this month. “Rafa played all of his career with pain. He played and won I don’t know how many Grand Slams,” he said.
But Nadal was straight back to being a Real Madrid supporter when he left the City Football Academy, rushing to Anfield so he could watch his beloved team in Champions League action against Liverpool.
It wasn’t an ideal outing for the newly-retired tennis icon, as Real Madrid suffered a 2-0 defeat.
Nadal’s whirlwind Premier League tour comes amid speculation that he could take on a role at Real Madrid. He’s long been tipped to become the club’s next president but his uncle and former coach Toni believes he would accept a different position.
“I imagine that if he is offered the position of director of Madrid, he would be delighted,” the Mallorcan tennis coach told El Larguero.
“I haven’t said president. I think it’s because he is such a big fan of Real Madrid.”
