The ‘GOAT’ debate in soccer has been raging on for a number of years, and even if its major protagonists have entered the final levels in their shining careers, all sports activities lovers, specifically lovers of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi themselves, proceed to have their very own opinion at the subject.
The identical, after all, can also be stated for males’s tennis, the place Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer were the central figures for the ATP excursion for 20 years, fighting it out on the most sensible of the scores and Grand Slam counts and making an attempt to outdo their opponents at each and every step.
Nadal particularly is a faithful soccer fan, and this information led to a couple lovers taking the chance to invite him the everlasting query about soccer. The Spaniard is on holiday in Greece, and used to be taking photos with some younger lovers when he used to be requested a query through the pair: “Messi or Ronaldo?”
‘Messi is healthier however…’
His reaction used to be captured and posted in a video on TikTok, the place the Spaniard offers his verdict at the debate, and states “Messi is better, but I am a Madrid fan!”. Nadal is a hero in Spain, the place each Messi and Ronaldo spent nearly all of their careers excelling within the La Liga for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively. Nadal has been partial to the Madrid-based crew since his boyhood, with Los Blancos being his circle of relatives’s crew.
Famously, Rafa’s uncle Miguel Angel Nadal used to be a participant for Barcelona, having spent a length within the overdue Nineties as a constant starter for Johan Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’. Called the ‘Beast of Barcelona’, Miguel Angel gained 62 Spanish caps and represented Barca over 200 instances, sandwiched between spells at his homeland membership of UCD Mallorca, which is the place the Nadal circle of relatives hails from.
The Spanish megastar has spoken previously about how his Madrid-favouring circle of relatives nevertheless supported his uncle’s profession in Barcelona. While Rafa selected tennis, his different uncle Toni’s game of selection, he’s reported to were a precociously proficient footballer in his adolescence as neatly.
Rafa’s paths have continuously crossed with the game in different places: he’s a stakeholder in his homeland membership Mallorca, and used to be famously provide within the locker room as Spain celebrated their first-ever World Cup victory in 2010.
Nadal is universally beloved in each Barcelona and Madrid: the primary court docket on the Barcelona Open used to be renamed this Pista Rafa Nadal in honor of the 12-time champion of the development, whilst he’s additionally a 5-time champion on the prestigious Mutua Madrid Masters 1000 event. He could also be an honorary membership member at Real Madrid.
The Spaniard additionally stocks an immense sense of mutual appreciate for his footballing opposite numbers. Nadal gave the impression along Ronaldo in a well-known viral commercial for Nike, the place the duo performed a recreation of tennis for the sports activities production giants. Earlier this yr, Nadal had additionally sponsored Messi to win the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award, regardless of being nominated himself, incomes a deeply heartfelt message of thank you from the Argentine.
Nadal is lately rehabilitating from a hip surgical procedure, and expects to go back for a farewell yr on excursion in 2024. Meanwhile, Messi introduced himself with an injury-time freekick for his new membership Inter Miami on debut whilst Ronaldo undergoes preseason preparation for a season recent with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.