Cristiano Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham and more: Football world reacts as Tennis icon Rafael Nadal announces retirement

Football stars reacted on social media after Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal announced his retirement on October 10.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion announced his retirement via social media by uploading a video. In the video, he talked about how the last two years have been difficult for him as a professional tennis star. He suffered a hip injury during the 2023 Australian Open, which ruled him out for the entire year.

Later, he returned to action at the 2024 Brisbane International, where his hip injury flared against Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals. In the past two years, Nadal has played only one Grand Slam, the 2024 French Open, where he lost to Alexander Zverev in the opening round.

As soon as Nadal made the heartbreaking announcement, social media was flooded with reactions. The 14-time French Open champion is a huge Real Madrid supporter, as he attended the El Clasico in April. Los Blancos' Jude Bellingham took to Instagram and uploaded a video on his story with the caption:

"Legend, what a career."

Former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos also took to Instagram and wrote:

"It will never be the same again without you and Roger. Thank you for always being an example on and off the court! Congrats for everything."

Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo also commented on Nadal's retirement:

Cristiano Ronaldo's comment

Apart from Ronaldo, David de Gea, Virgil van Dijk, and Manuel Neuer also commented on the Spaniard's post. Here are the comments:

Manuel Neuer and David de Gea's comments

Virgil van Dijk's comment

Rafael Nadal will play at the 2024 Davis Cup finals as his last professional tournament.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez lauds Rafael Nadal after retirement announcement

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez also lauded the 22-time Grand Slam champion for his successful career. He stated that the 14-time Roland Garros winner was the pride of the nation and also praised him for his moral values and sportsmanship. He said (via MadridXtra):

"Rafa Nadal is a source of pride for our country and an example of an essential values of sport, which he has built upon throughout his extraordinary career."

The 2024 Davis Cup finals are scheduled to take place between November 19 and 24, which will be Rafael Nadal's last professional tournament. Spain will face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.