“I enjoyed it and I was moved,” Rafael Nadal was in tears while witnessing Lionel Messi lift the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Rafael Nadal has said that he wept as Lionel Messi led Argentina to World Cup victory in the final. Even Nadal, a supporter of Real Madrid, had satisfaction in witnessing former Barcelona talisman Messi accomplish his greatest feat at a time when others questioned if he would ever win football’s premier competition. Messi, who is now 35, was the key to Argentina’s triumph in Qatar.

In a thrilling 3-3 tie against France on Sunday, he not only scored twice, but he also converted a penalty in the subsequent shootout to win the Golden Ball as the competition’s best player. In June, two days after turning 36, Nadal won his 22nd grand slam, so he can relate to another person’s achievement in their later years.

“Messi lifting the World Cup made me happy. That someone so great culminates with a title that was missing, of this calibre, with all that it means for Argentina, it seemed fair to me,” Nadal said. “I enjoyed it and I was moved. Without siding with Argentina, when Messi scored the third goal tears came to my eyes. It was because of the emotion of seeing someone so great achieve what was missing, having suffered so much to achieve it.”

It is unclear how much longer Nadal and Messi will play; the tennis legend has previously said that during his injury issues last year he was on the verge of retiring. When asked about his future plans in January, Nadal compared himself to Messi, a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and said he would leave a significant hole in sports. He said: “People who like sports don’t like it when someone they admire retires. You don’t want Messi or Tiger Woods to retire. I like to see them on TV and I would like to continue watching them.”

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Rafael Nadal also talked about Lionel Messi’s PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe

Given that Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe is a longtime target of Real Madrid, Nadal would have paid close attention since he scored three goals for France in the Lusail Stadium final. It wouldn’t be shocking if Mbappe eventually ends up at the Santiago Bernabeu, despite the fact that he turned down Madrid to sign a new PSG contract in May. In an interview with AS, who named Nadal their athlete of the year, the subject of Mbappe came up.

Nadal was asked if he would forgive Mbappe if he signed with Real Madrid. “I don’t have to forgive Mbappe for anything and as a Madrid fan, if he could, come tomorrow,” Nadal said.

“In the end, things happen in sports and I suppose that such a young boy was overwhelmed by such tremendous pressure from all angles that in the end… I think he wanted to come to Madrid, but due to many factors, everything was very complicated for him. Hopefully we can see him in Madrid in the future,” he added.

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