Will Rafael Nadal succeed Florentino Pérez as Real Madrid president?

After a remarkable 20-year career on the ATP tour, achieving a staggering 1,080 victories and 92 titles, including an impressive 22 Grand Slam tournament wins, Olympic gold in singles from Beijing doubles from Rio, and four Davis Cup trophies, which secured his top spot in the ATP world rankings list for 209 weeks...

...arguably the best Spanish athlete of all time has announced his retirement.

Before retiring, he plans to compete again for the Davis Cup national team and participate in the premiere gala tournament in Riyadh. After these events, he will contemplate his future and the new challenges that await him.

What‘s next for Rafa?

In the coming period, it is unmistakable that he will wholeheartedly focus on being a dedicated father to his son Rafa, indulge in his passion for golf, embark on fishing trips, oversee the expansion of his tennis academy in Manacor, and undoubtedly show unwavering support for Real Madrid from the royal box at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

At the Bernabéu, he is always given VIP treatment and seated close to Florentino Pérez, the most prominent figure in Spanish and European football. Despite being at the height of his power, Pérez, who is 77 years old, won’t be able to remain president of the world’s biggest football club forever. This raises the question of who will succeed him, whether it’s in a year, five years, or ten.

Could Nadal succeed Pérez at the helm of Real Madrid?

Nadal’s “retirement” immediately sparked discussions about his potential candidacy for the presidency of the club he has supported since childhood. However, the Nadal family has historically been fans of Barcelona, especially since Rafa’s uncle, Miguel, joined the team in the early ‘90s. Even Miguel’s brother, Toni, who would later become Rafael’s coach, tried to enroll his young cousin in the Barcelona football school and persuade him to support the blue and red team, but without success.

Now, the moment is when Nadal, the best Spanish tennis player ever, will be asked about the possibility of becoming Real Madrid’s top figure one day.

“If you ask me if I would be excited if I became the president of Real Madrid, of course, the answer is yes. I would be happy, but it’s not in my life plans,” Rafa once said in an interview for “El Objectivo de La Sexta” as a still active tennis player.

“If life puts me in that position and all the conditions are met, then I would. I am a big fan of Real Madrid,” he added. He also made it clear that he would never be an opposing candidate to the current president, Pérez, saying that he sincerely doubted that he could do better.

What are the requirements to become Real Madrid’s president?

One has already happened regarding conditions - Nadal is no longer a professional tennis player. The second condition will inevitably happen – the day when Florentino Pérez decides to retire.

However, what about the other conditions? Does the former tennis player, although one of the best of all time, meet the requirements to become president according to the club’s Statute? The most crucial condition is that the candidate for president must be Spanish, a requirement that Nadal fulfills.

Another condition is that he has 20 years of service as a club member. We don’t know precisely when Rafa joined the club, but it’s not impossible that this condition has been primarily fulfilled or will soon be.

The third condition is to personally provide the club with 15 percent of the annual budget from his own funds, as much as possible through investments of business partners and sponsors that he provides. It is not a small sum, but also it is hard to believe that Rafael Nadal is incapable of such a thing. This season, the sum in question is 141 million, considering that Real’s budget is 940 million euros. Nadal would hardly be incapable of fulfilling this, given the long list of his sponsors and business partners who would follow him in this business/pleasure venture.