Nadal makes interesting comparisons between himself and Messi and Zidane

World No. 4 Rafael Nadal surprised when he mentioned Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane of football when asked about the possibility of retirement.

The 36-year-old Spaniard is one of the greatest tennis players of all time and arguably the greatest clay court player in tennis history.

He won his recent 14th Roland Garros championship after defeating Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final, and also produced a resounding quarter-final victory over rival Novak Djokovic.

With this victory, Rafael Nadal currently has won 22 Grand Slams, surpassing two people, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who are also outstanding players who have both won 20 championships.

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal take turns to dominate the world tennis village. Photo: CHOLD

Nadal was asked about the possibility of retirement after the final of Roland Garros. Finally, he mentioned and referenced some of the greatest athletes in the sport: “Sports lovers never expect someone they admire to retire.

You don’t want the Messi of the subject football or Tiger Woods of golf retired right? If I’m a fan of someone, I want to watch them live, or on television. All in all, I want to keep watching them play.”

The Spaniard added: “When Zinedine Zidane retired, I didn’t want him to do that. It’s hard to find another football player as comprehensive as Zidane in my opinion. Of course, I don’t want him to stop playing football. You, too, will always want to see the athletes you admire compete.”

The Spaniard admires the football’s Zidane. Photo: CHOLD

There are certainties when it comes to saying that Rafael Nadal is part of so many elite athletes in the sport who will be celebrated throughout fan games. Along with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, Nadal is part of an illustrious trio arguably competing in the most competitive era of professional tennis.

The same can be said of Lionel Messi, who together with Cristiano Ronaldo have completely dominated world football for more than a decade. Together, the two have scored more than 1600 goals for club and country during their careers. Both are the only players to have won the Ballon d’Or more than three times, with Messi seven times and Ronaldo five times.

Current youngsters like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are so far following a similar impressive trajectory. Still, it’s hard to imagine them sharing the same dominance in individual accolades as their predecessors enjoyed.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are two tennis monuments similar to Messi – Ronaldo of world football. Photo: CHOLD

Rafael Nadal, despite being an expert of a very different sport, has displayed a similar kind of athleticism and longevity that has put him ahead of both Federer and Djokovic when it comes to Grand Slams.

No one doubts that tennis fans won’t want to see one of the three retire, in the same way that football fans don’t want to see Ronaldo or Lionel Messi hang up their boots.