Jose Mourinho reacts to Rafael Nadal's Real Madrid move with message to rival fans

 The appointment of Nadal as a new member of the Real Madrid board of directors was announced on Wednesday and requires ratification at the club’s general assembly on 21 November. Within hours, two of the biggest names in Spanish sport had weighed in.

Mourinho after the Valverde winner in Athens

Mourinho addressed Nadal’s new role after watching his side scrape a 3-2 Champions League win at AEK Athens, settled by a stoppage-time Federico Valverde strike. The Portuguese could not have been more enthusiastic.

“Hats off to Real Madrid and to the great Rafa Nadal,” Mourinho told beIN Sports. “I just hope that fans of other clubs who love Nadal won’t stop loving him because he’s a Real Madrid fan.”

Talking to DAZN in Spanish, Mourinho added that he felt an enormous sense of pride at having Nadal involved and that every Real Madrid fan would feel exactly the same.

Alcaraz at the Paris Masters: “A crazy thing”

At the Rolex Paris Masters, Carlos Alcaraz was asked for his view at a press conference. A fellow Spaniard and a longtime admirer of Nadal, he lit up.

“What Nadal is doing as a director at Madrid seems like a crazy thing to me, I’m overjoyed for him,” Alcaraz told Spanish broadcaster COPE.

Alcaraz called Nadal a huge football fan and a huge Real Madrid fan, and said it was incredible that the club’s president, Florentino Pérez, had brought him onto the board. He added that he wished Rafa all the very best, and that he hoped to see him when he next goes to watch Real Madrid.

What happens on 21 November

Nadal’s seat still needs a formal green light. The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who retired from professional tennis in 2024, will only officially take his place after the general assembly ratifies the proposal on 21 November.

In his own statement on the day of the announcement, Nadal thanked Florentino Pérez and the board that had put his name forward, saying he had accepted the proposal with great excitement and a desire to learn and contribute everything he can.