‘King of clay’ set to join Florentino Perez on Real Madrid board

Published: November 04, 2026 07:19 PM IST

Madrid: Real Madrid announced Rafael Nadal will join their boardroom. The 22-time tennis Grand Slam winner’s appointment as a director will be put to members for ratification, the club said in an official statement on Wednesday. Nadal is already an honorary member of the club.

“It is a source of immense pride for Real Madrid and for all our supporters that a figure of his sporting and personal stature to join our Board of Directors,” the Spanish side said in the statement.

The club highlighted Nadal’s sporting achievements, including 92 tour singles titles, two Olympic gold medals, five Davis Cup triumphs with Spain and the world number one ranking.

“I would like to thank President Florentino Perez and the Board for inviting me to join the Board of Directors of Real Madrid,” Nadal wrote on social media, welcoming the invitation.

“I have accepted this invitation with great enthusiasm, keen to learn and to contribute as much as I can.”

Nadal, who retired from tennis in November 2024, has long been touted as a potential successor to Real president Florentino Perez, although he has played down the prospect. The 79-year-old Perez secured another four-year term in June after Real’s first contested presidential election in two decades.
(With Reuters inputs).