Pedro Sánchez did not want to send any message to Rafa Nadal after announcing his retirement from the tennis courts last Thursday. The president of the government, who Two days before, he congratulated Andrés Iniesta with a moving message, He prefers not to pay any tribute to an athlete who brought Spain’s reputation throughout the world.
The world of sport and much of politics They looked to Rafa Nadal for his impressive sporting career crowned with 22 Grand Slam tournaments, two Olympic gold medals and a total of 92 ATP tournaments. Pedro Sánchez never liked the tennis player and this is demonstrated by the fact that he was never officially received at Moncloa.
During his mandate, The native of Manacor won six Grand Slam tournaments and was never received at the Palace where all types of athletes participated during this time. Actually, Some visits played tricks on Pedro Sánchez like the remembered presence of the Spanish football team after winning the European Cup with the cold greetings to Dani Carvajal.
To publicly find one last praise from Pedro Sánchez to Rafa Nadal We have to go back to 2022 when he congratulated him for having achieved his fourteenth Roland Garros. Since then, the president has not dedicated a single second to the best Spanish athlete of all time, even though they coincided in places and events.
The most recent took place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games when Pedro Sánchez decided to follow the disciplines of judo, water polo and swimming and skipped tennis. Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were playing at Philippe Chatrier, but the president decided not to attend this match even though his schedule was empty at the time.
Pedro Sánchez’s last chance
The socialist leader will have an extra ball to show if he has class and fires one of the most beloved people in Spain as he deserves or if, on the contrary, he meets the demands of his partners, who have always been very critical of Nadal. . This opportunity will present itself during the Davis Cup which will take place from November 19 to 24 in Malaga and where Rafa Nadal will play his last professional tournament.
For now, Only three members of Pedro Sánchez’s government wanted to send a message of affection to Rafa Nadal. Interestingly, they are three women: the first vice-president of the government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero; the head of education, professional training and sports, Pilar Alegría; and that of Equality, Ana Redondo.
The others said nothing and many of Sánchez’s ministers have been seen in the stands at Nadal’s matches in recent years, notably at the Mutua Madrid Open. The manacorense He never had the sympathy of left-wing parties and that he has never expressed himself politically towards this or that sign.
The only time Nadal talked about politics was when The motion of censure took place which led to the departure of Mariano Rajoy of the presidency of the government in 2018 and in turn led to the promotion of Pedro Sánchez. “In my opinion, the best thing would be to vote, or I would like to vote again. I think citizens would like to vote again because today no one can governsomeone for whom we voted and we feel represented, because there are too many agreements and ultimately our vote does not leave us comfortable,” he said.
These words could explain the obvious distance between Pedro Sánchez and Rafa Nadal. The president did not want to receive the Spanish team winning the 2019 Davis Cup led by Rafa and it took the sixth salad bowl at the Caja Mágica in Madrid. Now, if he wins in 2024, everything indicates that the leader of the PSOE will have the smallest detail with the best athlete that has ever existed in our country.
