After his comeback win over Pablo Carreno Busta, Rafael Nadal was asked in his post-match interview about his thoughts on the current happenings of Real Madrid. Nadal is a diehard Real Madrid fan and follows them, his local club RCD Mallorca, and the Spain's national team very closely.

Nadal’s fandom of Los Merengues is so evident that ESPN’s Graham Hunter said, "He's as Merengue as [Real Madrid icons] Raúl, Iker Casillas and Alfredo Di Stéfano."

Nadal speaks about Benitez and Zidane

After his match, the world number five said, “[Zinedine​] Zidane is history of the sport, history of football, and he’s part of the history of Real Madrid.” He continued, going on to say that he knows that Zidane is a good, humble person and deserves to be where he is.

Nadal also acknowledges that the hiring of the Frenchman, who coached Real Madrid Castilla, is good for the players in one of the most important clubs in the world. He finished off by saying that he was happy for Zidane and wished him the best of luck.

Nadal was speaking after his victory in Abu Dhabi. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Nadal was speaking after his victory in Abu Dhabi. (REUTERS/Stringer)

The Spaniard continued on in his post-match interview and talked about ex-Madrid manager Rafa Benitez as well. Benitez was sacked on Monday with Zidane coming in as his replacement. The nine-time French Open champion felt sorry for Benitez, but felt a change needed to be made since the results were not there on the “new project”.

More football talk from Rafa, this time about his uncle

Nadal’s coach is his Uncle Toni. Toni has been his coach his whole life but what most people do now know is that Nadal has a famous footballing uncle as well.

Miguel Angel Nadal played football from the 1980s to the mid-2000s. He’s most famous for his two stints at Mallorca, with an eight-year run at Barcelona in between.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion revealed that as a child, he cried watching his uncle win with Real Madrid’s biggest rivals.

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.