JOSE MOURINHO once revealed Rafael Nadal could have been a top-level footballer.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss worked with Rafa’s uncle Miguel Angel Nadal during their days together at Barcelona in the 1990s.
Mourinho was employed as a translator first then an assistant boss at Nou Camp under Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal.
The 58-year-old Portuguese, who knew the Nadal family well, is a big tennis fan and is often at Wimbledon and Queen’s.
Nadal, 35, has won 20 Grand Slam titles – 13 of them at the French Open – and considered among the leading tennis players of all time.
Asked about Rafa’s tennis achievements, Mourinho said: “He is incredible.
“I am happy he didn’t, but he could also have been a fantastic football player.
“His uncle was my player in Barcelona in 1996. I know that Rafa can play football and well.
“So he could have played with his physicality, mentality, and his skill, too. He could be.
“Thank you so much he wasn’t. Because in tennis he is what he is.”
Miguel Angel played more than 200 games for the Catalan giants between 1991 and 1999 in between long spells with Mallorca.
He also played 62 games for the Spanish national team, while Rafa has won the Davis Cup – the World Cup of tennis – four times.
But Nadal will not feature at this year’s Wimbledon as he does not want to take any risks with his body, needing a break to ‘recuperate after a long clay-court season’.
Also set to miss the delayed Olympic Games, he said in a statement: “It’s never an easy decision but after listening to my body and discussing it with my team I understand that it is the right decision,” said the Spaniard.
“The goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy.
“It’s never an easy decision but after listening to my body and discussing it with my team I understand that it is the right decision,” said the Spaniard.
“The goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy.
“That is to compete at the highest level and keep fighting for those professional and personal goals at the maximum level of competition.
“The fact that there has only been two weeks between Roland Garros and Wimbledon didn’t make it easier on my body to recuperate after the always demanding clay-court season.
“They have been two months of great effort and the decision I take is focused looking at the mid and long term.
“Sport prevention of any kind of excess in my body is a very important factor at this stage of my career in order to try to keep fighting for the highest level of competition and titles.
“The Olympic Games always meant a lot and they were always a priority as a sportsperson, I found the spirit that every sportsperson in the world wants to live.
“I personally had the chance to live three of them and had the honour to be the flagbearer for my country.”
