It has been suggested that tennis legend
Rafael Nadal is in line to replace Florentino Perez as the next president of football club Real Madrid CF.
Former world No. 1 Nadal could be shifting his focus from tennis to football. The 22-time Grand Slam champion is from Mallorca, but is nevertheless a proud Real Madrid fan, often attending their home matches.
The club competes in the top league of Spanish football, La Liga, and has never been relegated since its inception in 1929. It is one of the most well-known and well-supported clubs across the globe, and is estimated to be worth $5.1 billion, with an annual revenue of €713.8 million.
Club denies Perez is leaving
Despite the rumors, Real Madrid has denied that Perez is leaving his post. However, Spanish sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo reported that the 76-year-old plans to leave the club after work on remodeling the Santiago Bernabéu stadium is finished.
Meanwhile, Spanish media outlet Sport has reported that 37-year-old Nadal could be the one to replace him. According to them, the club wants to implement a new structure for the next president, bringing someone in who has "more representative character than executive."
Sport also reported that Nadal is Perez's first choice for the role, but failing that, he could select Emilio Butragueno, who is the club's current director of institutional relations. Another option is for Butragueno and Nadal to work together, with the former doing more of the executive work and Nadal being more of an "honourary" figure for the club.
Nadal's next step after tennis?
Rumors such as these act as a reminder that the Big Three member will not be playing tennis competitively for much longer. Nadal has missed most of this season due to injury, last playing at the Australian Open where he went out in the second round, losing to America's Mackenzie McDonald.
He has since announced that he is expecting to retire from the sport in 2024.
