WATCH: Rafael Nadal receives Kylian Mbappe's Real Madrid jersey from the Frenchman himself; pair shares warm embrace
Rafael Nadal and Kylian Mbappe shared a heartwarming moment following the Frenchman's debut La Liga appearance for Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid. Mbappe gifted the 22-time Major winner his Real Madrid jersey, and the pair warmly embraced each other before parting ways.
Real Madrid started its 2024-2025 La Liga campaign with an away match against Mallorca on Sunday, August 18. Nadal, a fervent supporter of both Mallorca, his boyhood club, and Real Madrid, was in attendance to watch the action unfold. The match ended in a 1-1 draw after Rodrygo's first-half goal was canceled out by Vedat Muriqi's equalizer early on in the second half. Real Madrid finished the match with ten men after Ferland Mendy was shown a red card in the dying minutes.
After the match, Nadal and Mbappe met each other in the Mallorca Son Moix Stadium's tunnel, with the Frenchman gifting his Real Madrid jersey to the Spaniard. The duo exchanged a heartfelt embrace as well. Watch the moment unfold below:
Earlier this year, the former World No. 1 had urged Real Madrid to finalize the transfer of Mbappe from Paris Saint Germain (PSG). The Frenchman had previously been linked with the European soccer powerhouse, but potential deals fell through. Nadal opined that Real Madrid would become an even stronger team with the prolific forward leading the line.
"I would sign Kylian Mbappe for Real Madrid. Real Madrid have a super team, beyond the disaster of injuries this year. With Mbappe they would be even better, if I could contribute to the club in any way I would," Nadal said during an interview with COPE in February this year.
Rafael Nadal to feature next at Laver Cup 2024
For Nadal, the ongoing tennis season continues to be a stop-start. The former World No. 1's last outing came at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he was ousted by eventual gold medalist Novak Djokovic in the second round of men's singles.
The Spaniard also paired up with compatriot Carlos Alcaraz to play in the men's doubles event. However, the pair was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual silver medalists from the USA, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
It was widely expected that Nadal would return to action at the 2024 US Open after the released entry list featured his name. However, on Thursday, August 8, via a statement released on X (formerly Twitter), the 22-time Major winner confirmed that he would not be participating in this year's edition of the prestigious hardcourt Major at Flushing Meadows.
Nadal though, did confirm that he would be featuring for Team Europe at the 2024 Laver Cup in Berlin alongside Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.