Rafael Nadal Makes Interesting Comparisons Between Himself and Lionel Messi after winning Roland Garros

• Rafael Nadal has said that sports lovers won't want him to retire anytime soon quipping that no one wants to see sports greats retire
• The King of Clay compared himself to Lionel Messi and Tiger Woods and recounted how heartbroken he was when Zinedine Zidane retired
• Nadal has won the most number of Grand Slams in tennis history after winning the Rolland Garros which took him to 22 titles in his career

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has compared himself to football great Lionel Messi. Nadal was recently asked about his potential retirement date and he made a subtle reference to Messi who is still playing at a high level despite his advanced age.

Nadal is arguably one of the best tennis players ever after winning a record 22 Grand Slams. He won the Roland Garros tournament in France to move clear of his closest challengers Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer who are both on 20 Grand Slams.

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Football

What is a Grand Slam in Tennis?

According to Wikipedia, Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in the same calendar year, also referred to as the "Calendar-year Grand Slam" or "Calendar Slam".

And when he was quizzed by a reporter about his potential plans to retire, the 36-year-old Spaniard made an allusion to the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner 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.

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

Deep comparisons can be drawn between Lionel Messi and Rafael Nadal. The two have served excellence and longevity in their professions.

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Football

Messi has been part of the rivalry that has seen him come up against Cristiano Ronaldo several times. The two have been around for a decade-plus, breaking almost every available record in the football world.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were excluded from Most Valuable XI

Sports Brief earlier reported that the era of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominating world football is gradually coming to end as both players have been excluded from this year’s most valuable eleven players.

This year’s CIES Football Observatory’s most valuable eleven is topped by Paris Saint-Germain forward, Kylian Mbappe who is valued at £175.7m on the back of signing that new three-year deal to the tune of £650,000-a-week.

Erling Haaland and Vinicius Junior are the two other strikers selected by CIES in the top eleven as both players are believed to be worth £130m and £158.4m respectively.