Soccer-Nadal lined up to join Perez on Real Madrid board

Real Madrid are set to ​add a champion from another sporting arena ​to their boardroom, with 22-times ‌tennis Grand ​Slam winner Rafael Nadal's appointment as a director to be put to members for ratification, the club said on Wednesday.

The board ‌agreed at its November 4 meeting to submit the appointment to the General Assembly of Delegated Members. 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 ... is to join our Board of Directors," Real said in a 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. Real ​said his qualities beyond ⁠those honours — including humility, respect for opponents and commitment to charity — also reflected the club's identity.

"All these values form ⁠part of Real Madrid's identity, and Rafael Nadal has embodied and championed them throughout his sporting career," ​the statement said. Nadal welcomed the invitation.

"I would like to thank President Florentino Perez and ⁠the Board for inviting me to join the Board of Directors of Real Madrid," he wrote on social media. "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. Perez, 79, secured ⁠another four-year term in ⁠June after Real's first contested presidential election in two decades.

More than a third of voting members backed challenger Enrique Riquelme, who opposed plans ‌to bring outside ‌investment into the member-owned club.