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Sport

28th Oct 2014

Pic: A very young Rafael Nadal poses as a ball-boy with his uncle and Barcelona legend Miguel Angel Nadal at the Nou Camp

We imagine that Rafa probably could have been an absolute beast at football like his uncle if his career followed that path...

Paul Moore

We imagine that Rafa probably could have been an absolute beast at football like his uncle if his career followed that path…

When JOE is asked to think about the great sporting families, the names of Manning, Williams, Laudrup, DiMaggio and Klitschko aren’t far from our minds.

The name of Nadal can be added to the list as Rafael and his uncle Miguel have both written their names in sporting history.

You may remember Miguel Angel Nadal, a hard as nails centre-back who began his career at Mallorca before moving to Barcelona. At the Nou Camp ‘The Beast’ became a cornerstone of the famous Dream Team which won the 1992 European Cup.

Nadal played in three World Cups and also won five La Liga titles, three Copa Del Reys, two Super Cups and the Cup Winners Cup during a stellar career.

As for his nephew Rafael, well, he is arguably one of, if not the best male tennis player of all time. We still think Federer is the greatest but Rafa could soon be about to take his crown.

The King of Clay’s 14 majors speak for themselves while Nadal is also the only male tennis player to win a single Grand Slam tournament nine times and at least one Grand Slam tournament for ten consecutive years.

This photo in one word: talent.