Rafael Nadal makes surprise Lionel Messi reference after being asked about retirement following Roland Garros triumph

World No. 4 Rafael Nadal made a surprise reference to the likes of Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane when quizzed about his potential retirement.

The 36-year old Spaniard is one of the greatest tennis players of all time and arguably the best clay court player in tennis history. He won his 14th Roland Garros recently after defeating Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final, producing a resounding quarterfinal victory over rival Novak Djokovic enroute.

With the win, Rafael Nadal has now won 22 Grand Slams, moving two past Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who have both won 20.

Nadal was asked about his potential retirement after the Roland Garros final. He ended up referencing some of the greatest athletes across sports (as quoted by Filo):

“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.”

He added:

“When (Zinedine) Zidane retired, I didn't want him to retire... You want to see those athletes that you admire."

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Rafael Nadal and Lionel Messi; two of the best in their respective sports

There is little doubt that Rafael Nadal is very much part of an elite group of athletes in sports who will be celebrated across fan-bases. Along with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, Nadal is part of an illustrious trio who are arguably playing through the most competitive era of professional tennis.

The same can be said about Lionel Messi, who along with Cristiano Ronaldo has completely dominated world football for more than a decade. The two together have scored more than 1600 goals for club and country during their careers and are the only two players to have won the Ballon d’Or more than thrice.

Current youngsters like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have till now followed a similarly impressive trajectory. It is, however, hard to imagine them sharing the same kind of dominance in individual awards as their predecessors enjoyed.

Rafael Nadal, albeit a professional of a very different sport, has shown a similar kind of athleticism and longevity that has allowed him to overtake both Federer and Djokovic when it comes to Grand Slams.

There is little doubt that tennis fans will not want to see either of the three retire, in the same way that football fans do not want to see Ronaldo or Lionel Messi hang up their boots.