Rafael Nadal has urged Real Madrid to put a transfer deal in place for Kylian Mbappe, with the tennis superstar open to becoming club president.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion is a lifelong Blancos supporter despite his uncle, Miguel Angel Nadal, playing more than 200 games for Clasico rivals Barcelona in the 1990s. He continues to keep a close eye on events at Santiago Bernabeu and would like to see a French World Cup winner lured away from Paris Saint-Germain.
Quizzed by Movistar Plus on who he would like to see snapped up by Real, Nadal said: “Would another forward be welcome right now? I think so but…I want Mbappe to come, I don’t have any problem with that at all, quite the opposite. I’d be happy if he came! Of course I like Mbappe, who doesn’t like Mbappe?
He didn’t have any obligation to come before. Real Madrid is Real Madrid and is bigger than any other player. But Mbappe doesn’t have any obligation to come when us fans want him to come.”
Real have been heavily linked with Mbappe for some time, as he fits the Galacticos recruitment model of president Florentino Perez. A deal may be done at some stage, with Nadal saying when asked if he would like to occupy the Bernabeu boardroom after Perez:
“I don’t know. I promise that it’s not always been a dream of mine. But if you ask me if I’d like to be Real Madrid president, I think I would. But first of all, we’ve got the best possible president at the moment. On top of that, how I feel today might not be how I feel tomorrow. And then you never know what can happen in life. You have to know if you’re capable of doing that type of thing. I’m quite realistic with myself, I more or less know my limitations. I don’t know if I’d be capable of doing it or not. Anyway, time will tell.”
Real have made an impressive start to the 2023-24 season, taking maximum points from five games, and have seen €103 million (£89m/$110m) summer signing Jude Bellingham make an immediate impact.
The Blancos will be back in action on Wednesday when opening their Champions League campaign at home to Union Berlin
