Even before he was known as an international tennis champion, Rafael Nadal was considered a “good person.” By agreeing to become Saudi Arabia’s tennis ambassador, he shattered the ideal that many had of him in the country.
“Do we really know who Rafa Nadal is now?“
This is the question that fans of the tennis star are asking on social networks, after the announcement that the favorite sportsman of the Spaniards has signed an agreement to become “ambassador of tennis” for Saudi Arabia.
Rafael Nadal signed an agreement with this country on the Arabian Peninsula to “promote the development of sport”but more than his actions, it was the statement he made that left the Spanish speechless: “Wherever you look, you can see the growth and progress here”.
“So does money buy everything?“, ask supporters, criticizing the lack of human rights in the Gulf state. Today, the debate has moved from social networks to office corridors, cafeterias and Whatsapp groups.
“I read the news in the evening and thought I was tired and must have misunderstood, but the next day I saw that it was indeed true. The first thing I thought was: why did it sell? He has a lot of money and he won it all, he didn’t need it“, tells Euronews Jaime, originally from Madrid, a lifelong fan of Rafael Nadal.
“The blow was so hard that we started counting the years from that moment: the first year since Rafa sold himself“, he adds.
Newspapers were also filled with letters lamenting Rafael Nadal’s decision: “I don’t understand the need to sell yourself like this, but I don’t blame it either: when it comes to large sums of money, dignity and honor disappear“, writes Pablo Erskine, from Alcorcón, in El País.
“Is it really worth sacrificing principles for a few million more?“
Gonzalo was discussing it with his colleagues during a coffee break at the bank where he works in London: “It’s difficult to be objective because for me Rafa Nadal is God, but clearly this isn’t the best thing he could have done“.
There are those who wonder why Spain’s most popular sports star made this decision and those who defend their idol even in the biggest controversies.
“I don’t know if this agreement is good for his image, but IHe thinks he does it for the development of tennis and his academy, not for the money. I still believe in Nadal’s values and principles” says Jorge, a Spaniard living in Germany who claims to have never missed a single Nadal match.
Tempted by petrodollars
Rafael Nadal is not the first, nor the last athlete to work for Saudi Arabia. That is why the Spanish reaction may come as a surprise, especially since Spanish sports fans remained silent when other athletes signed contracts with the Arab country.
Another Spaniard, Jon Rham, joined the government-funded Saudi golf league, with a contract estimated at more than $500 million.
Beyond the borders of the country, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo should pocket 200 million euross for promoting Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2030 World Cup, according to media reports.
Very little information has filtered out about the deal reached between Rafael Nadal and the Saudis, and even less about the sums involved. All that has been made public is that it is a “long-term commitment to help grow the sport and inspire a new generation of tennis players in Saudi Arabia“.
The Saudi Tennis Federation’s statement also said thata new ‘Rafa Nadal’ academy will be opened in the country and the player will attend it.
Rafael Nadal’s reputation as a model
To understand the excitement caused by Rafael Nadal’s agreement with Saudi Arabia, it is necessary to understand his relationship with Spain. He is the second most successful male tennis player in Grand Slams (after Novak Djokovic), and many call him “the son of Spain” Or “the model man”.
But how come (almost) all Spaniards like Nadal?
Its communications manager, Benito Pérez-Barbadillo, gave the response to the Diario de Cádiz newspaper two years ago.
“Rafa is as people see him. He’s a normal man and a very good person. I think Rafa is so popular because he is authentic, he doesn’t have double standards and he is not an artificial person“, he declares.
The tennis player has always been known as “the boy from Manacor”, a town on the island of Mallorca, which does not boast of its victories and is never eccentric. A humble and generous champion who swears by work and discipline.
In 2017, in an interview with the newspaper El PaísRafael Nadal said that when it comes to managing his wealth, “Perhaps it would be better to go to another country where the conditions are more favorable, but where I am happy is in Spain, with my family and friends. In another country, I would have twice as much money, but I would be half as happy. Money can’t buy happiness“.
Even before he was an international champion, Rafael Nadal was known for being a “good person“. By accepting the Saudi offer, he shattered the ideal that many people in the country had of the great tennis player.
What is Saudi Arabia looking for?
Since 2021, the country would have invested 6.3 billion dollars in sports contractsalthough the figure is likely much higher, with a lack of transparency making the total difficult to assess.
The authoritarian regime invests millions of dollars in sport to project an image of modernity.
“It tries to promote the image of an open and developed country according to Western standards, but it remains a country that is accused of not respecting human rights.“, David Hernández, professor of international relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, told Euronews.
The use of oil money serves Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s strategy, his “Vision 2030”, launched eight years ago with the intention of diversifying the Saudi economy so that it no longer depends exclusively on oil.
The prince stated that sport had contributed to a 1% increase in his country’s GDP and he hoped to see the sector’s growth continue.
“The Saudis understood that international energy markets were changing, that renewable energy was increasingly encouraged, and so they are trying to transform their economy“, he adds.
David Hernández believes that Saudi Arabia seeks to achieve several objectives. The first is a show of strength by signing with big starsdemonstrating that she has the capacity and resources to organize what she wants.
The second is to send a message showing that it is a country open to contact with other cultures.
Finally, the final objective is to become a global media powerhouse.
“It is a similar model to that of the World Cup in Qatar. When it was organized, there were a lot of accusations about the lack of respect for human rights and workers’ conditions, but in the end, with the World Cup, people only talked about soccer“, explains the expert.
“The Saudi regime wants to project the image it wants to give of its country to the whole world. It is a very studied and calculated strategy“.