There will soon be a monument dedicated to Rafael Nadal, says Manacor Mayor

Roger Federer has a street named after him in Basel. Novak Djokovic has a wax statue in Belgrade along with two murals on the apartment building he took shelter in during the NATO bombings. And if the words of Manacor's Mayor Miquel Oliver are to be believed, Rafael Nadal might soon have a monument or a mural dedicated to him in his hometown.

Speaking with Manacor's local news website 'Premsa Independent Manacor', Miquel Oliver said the city council was waiting for the right time to officially announce the news of Nadal's commemoration.

Rafael Nadal's deep bond with Manacor to be immortalized with a monument

Rafael Nadal has a special relation with Manacor. All his life, the Spaniard has called the the little village-town on the island of Mallorca in Spain's Balearic Islands his home.

Rafael Nadal participating in the cleaning work during the 2018 floods in Mallorca

While many athletes who come from small towns move to a bigger city for commercial reasons, or to tax havens like Monte Carlo, Rafael Nadal has always lived in his place of birth. Nadal has repeatedly said he has never thought of moving elsewhere, and that he loves the 'island life' - where he can be close to his friends and family, and go yachting in the sea.

In fact, despite owning a sea-facing villa in the upscale Porto Cristo locality of Mallorca, Nadal still lives in his childhood family home for the most part. The place is a three-storeyed building in Manacor occupied entirely by Nadal's immediate and extended family.

Casa de Rafa: The Nadal family home in Manacor. Photo credit: Linda Mewshaw.

Rafael Nadal also put Manacor on the map by launching his biggest commercial venture, the Rafa Nadal Academy, in his hometown. The academy and the Nadal trophy museum built inside have helped boost the town's tourism.

And now, Manacor is ready to repay its favorite son by dedicating a monument or a mural as tribute. Miquel Oliver spoke very positively about the suggestion of a statue or large Nadal mural being approved by the City Council.

"Of course we are in favor of such an initiative, although in this case we think that a tribute like this should be carried out at a much more stable and calm moment than what we are currently experiencing," Miquel Oliver said.

The mayor stressed that there was no political opposition to the idea of paying tribute to the most famous individual from Manacor.

"In my view, when the time comes, when it will come, each and every one of the political forces present in the session should agree on a clear and transparent way of paying tribute to Rafael (Nadal)," Oliver added.

The question about a possible political opposition to a Nadal tribute arises from the war of words that took place between the mayor and Rafael Nadal not more than a year ago. Quite a few in the media believe that Manacor doesn't already host a Nadal monument just because the mayor and the athlete have never been on great terms with each other.

The mayor's attack on Rafa Nadal's academy

In December 2019, Manacor's Mayor Miquel had accused the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor of working a way around the payment of IBI (Property Tax).

The mayor had suggested that while the famous tennis complex was not illegal by any means, special laws had been created with the purpose of granting it special status.

The Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor

Rafael Nadal had hit back at the Mayor's comments and called them "offensive" and "painful". Nadal had also branded the mayor's claims - that the academy is yet to pay any IBI - as "completely false".

The World No. 2 had asserted that the construction of his academy was done in a "democratic way". According to Nadal, a parliamentary majority had decided that his project would be of benefit to Mallorca - especially if it was carried out when the Spaniard was still active on the tennis tour.

But all that seems to be in the past now, and the mayor's recent interview suggests that the relationship between him and Nadal has improved.

So any Rafael Nadal fans who are planning a trip to their hero's hometown for a visit to his famed academy, might want to hold off on their journey for a bit - as there will soon be a Nadal statue or mural in Manacor.