Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has paid tribute to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal after his latest major tennis title.
Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open final in five sets after coming back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in a stunning comeback win.
De Gea knows Nadal personally and rightly regards him as one of Spain’s biggest sporting heroes, and an inspiration.
The United stopper sent a message congratulating Nadal on a truly remarkable win.
Inspiring longevity and staying power
De Gea has been at Manchester United a decade now and racked up more than 400 appearances. At the age of 31, he still has plenty more left to give.
He will be looking at Nadal for inspiration, who is like the Cristiano Ronaldo of tennis. Nadal has won a staggering 21 Grand Slam titles.
The very first of these came in 2005, when De Gea was just 15 years old. He probably has more left in the tank too, and De Gea will want to prolong his own career as long as possible.
Nadal’s uncle was Miguel Angel Nadal, a former centre-back for Barcelona who represented Spain in the 90s.
De Gea has fought back to reclaim his place at United this season after the serious setback of the Europa League final last season, his biggest low as a player for the club after a disastrous penalty shootout.
He is in with a strong chance of winning the United player of the season award for a staggering fifth time.
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