Nadal set to join Real Madrid board of directors
ByMike Peter BBC Sport Journalist.
ByMike Peter BBC Sport Journalist.
Article outline
- What happened
- The key numbers
- Official response
- Background
- The bottom line
Key points
- Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and supported Spain claim five Davis Cups before retiring in 2024.
- Perez was re-elected to serve a new four-year term as Real president in June, having held the office since 2009.
- Tennis great Rafael Nadal is due to join the board of Spanish football giants Real Madrid.
- Real are at present third in the league after 11 games – three points behind defending champions Barcelona.
- Real's members will be asked to approve the 40-year-old's appointment to the board at a session afterwards this month.
In an official note announcing the move, external, the club remarked Nadal was "one of the greatest legends in the history of sport and one of the most admired and recognised Spanish athletes in the world".
"It is a great source of pride that a figure of his sporting and human stature, a benchmark of Spanish and world sport, will become part of our board of directors and contribute, from this position of responsibility, to the present and future of our club, " Real continued.
Notably, the tennis legend – a boyhood Real fan who holds member's number 67, 778 – included a photo of himself as a child in a club kit in his response to the news.
"I want to thank president Florentino Perez and the board for proposing that I join the board of directors of Real Madrid, " Nadal remarked in his post on X, external.
"I have accepted this proposal with great excitement, a desire to learn, and a willingness to contribute everything I can."
It is at present unclear as to what responsibilities Nadal would hold on the club's board.
He swiftly appointed Jose Mourinho to a second spell as head coach, hoping to improve the club's fortunes after they went a second season without a trophy in La Liga, the Champions League or the Copa del Rey.
For now, nadal set to join Real Madrid board of directors remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.
