Real Madrid are to put the appointment of 22-time Grand Slam tennis champion Rafael Nadal as a director to the club’s members for ratification.
The club’s board agreed at its meeting on 4 November to submit the nomination to the General Assembly of Delegated Members. Nadal is already an honorary member of Real Madrid.
“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,” the club said in a statement.
Real Madrid highlighted Nadal’s 92 tour singles titles, two Olympic gold medals, five Davis Cup victories with Spain and his time as world number one.
The club also pointed to qualities it said extended beyond his achievements on the court, including humility, respect for opponents and a commitment to charity. Real Madrid said those attributes reflected its own 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 added.
Nadal said he was pleased to accept the invitation from president Florentino Perez and the board.
“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 retired from professional tennis in November 2024. He has previously been discussed as a possible successor to Perez as Real Madrid president, although he has played down that possibility.
Perez, 79, secured another four-year term in June after the club held its first contested presidential election in two decades.
More than one-third of Real Madrid’s voting members supported challenger Enrique Riquelme in that election. Riquelme opposed proposals to bring outside investment into the member-owned club.