As the tennis season concluded, two veterans of the sport stole the limelight. First was Rafael Nadal’s retirement. Even though it was expected, it still moved his supporters to tears. This was soon followed by the surprising team-up of two former rivals – Andy Murray joining Novak Djokovic’s coaching setup. Another difficult one for fans to digest!
All of this has created curiosity among supporters about whether Nadal might return to tennis as a coach one day. However, former Spanish player and the 1998 and 2001 French Open finalist Alex Corretja does not think so. He confidently claims that it is “99.9% impossible” for that to happen, believing that the King of Clay will need time to reflect on “what he really wants to do.”
Corretja did not stop there, as he made a comparison between Murray and Nadal to justify his claim. Despite having two children, the 50-year-old feels that Murray has “less to do in his daily life.” In contrast, Nadal has to look after his academy in Manacor in addition to taking care of his family.
“Rafa lives in Manacor and has his academy, so I don’t see him traveling much. Maybe Andy still wanted to travel, have these experiences. I don’t see Rafa as a coach or advisor for anyone,” he told Eurosport.
Having said that, Corretja believes Nadal has the potential to take on a slightly different role in the future.
“I would see him more as an advisor for something big like Real Madrid, contributing something to the club by giving some talks. I envision it for a short period of time, three or six months, but not an everyday thing.”
It is unclear how this partnership would work out. But Nadal’s love for soccer, especially Real Madrid, is well known. So much so that he traveled to England last week to watch their Champions League game against Liverpool. On his way to Anfield, he made a pitstop in Manchester and left quite an impression on Pep Guardiola.
“He is one of the most incredible athletes of the time”: Guardiola on Nadal
Manchester City players can count themselves lucky to have met Nadal at their academy last week. After meeting the likes of Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish, Rafa spoke with their manager Guardiola.
Rafa visited Man City’s training base on Wednesday before watching Liverpool v
Real Madrid—Who better to learn from than the 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal?
“He’s the most incredible athlete of all time.”#bbcsport ig pic.twitter.com/3C6Ju1dWEv
— Madel Suravilla (@madel_suravilla) December 1, 2024
Later, in a press conference, Guardiola labeled Nadal as “one of the most incredible athletes of the time” and shared details of their discussion.
“We spoke about sports and everything, and how it’s difficult to maintain it for many years. In the end, he retired because of injuries. He said an incredible sentence: ‘I love to play, I want to play tennis, but my body says it’s enough.’ In the careers of football players and tennis, in the mind, you want to play, but your body says it’s enough.”
At this moment, it is difficult to predict Nadal’s future. But the Spaniard himself wouldn’t dwell on it too much. If he continues to make the most of his retirement, it’s unlikely that this will be Nadal’s last surprise visit to other sporting events.
