Rafael Nadal has taken to social media to congratulate the Spanish women's football team on their victory at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal is known for being a devoted football fan and is a longtime supporter of Real Madrid CF and of Spain in international tournaments, having played football himself until he was 12.

In 2010, Nadal revealed he cried when Spain won the men's world cup, and was one of only six people not affiliated with football allowed in the locker room to congratulate the winning team. Now, he has expressed his joy at seeing Spain's team secure the Women's World Cup title.

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Spain win first Women's World Cup title

The Spanish team soared to victory by defeating England in the final 1-0. Their goal was scored by Olga Carmona in the first half, and La Roja succesfully held off the Lionnesses for the rest of the game to lift the trophy.

"I think all of us we felt that this team had something special," Carmona said, "I believe that we’ve shown this on the field, we’ve shown this in the group stage, in the knockout stages. We’ve been fighting until the end. We never stopped."

This victory means that La Roja is the first team to hold the under-17, under-20, and the senior world titles at the same time. Along with Germany, they are also the only team to have won both the men and women's World Cup titles.

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Nadal shares his joy for team on Instagram

In a post on his Instagram story, Nadal congratulated the team in Spanish, translating as "Come on! Congratulations! World Champions!" under a post he shared from the Spanish women's football team official Instagram page announcing their win.

Nadal's love of football also stems from a family history in the sport. While his uncle Toni Nadal is a tennis coach, his other uncle Miguel Angel Nadal played for Barcelona in La Liga between 1991 and 1999. He also made 62 international appearances for Spain throughout his career.

Recently, it has been rumored that Nadal himself could start to get much more involved in football, as some sources have suggested that he is in the running to be the next president of Real Madrid whenever Florentino Perez decides to leave.