If some expected it a little, the fact remains that this announcement is a bolt from the blue in the sporting world. This Thursday, October 10, the former world number one tennis player, Rafael Nadal, revealed that he had decided to retire after the Davis Cup scheduled in Malaga in November. At 38 years old and after winning twenty-two Grand Slam tournaments, including fourteen Roland-Garros, the Spaniard has suffered from more or less serious injuries in recent years. In 2021, he revealed that he suffered from Müller-Weiss syndrome, a rare pathology affecting one of the bones in his left foot, causing chronic pain.
Supported by his family, notably his wife, Maria Francisca Perelló nicknamed Xisca, in the four corners of the world throughout his career, Rafael Junior’s father will be able to slow down a little, but his reconversion has already been planned for a long time – a decade – as revealed by the site Vanitatis after announcing his retirement from sports. Because Rafael Nadal is a savvy businessman who has managed to surround himself well over the years. In 2003, he notably created Nadal Invest, a company in which he holds 25%, and where we also find his uncles and his father. He is also involved in holding companies Debamina SL and Mabel Capital Global, which manages his business interests. He is a shareholder there, the management being entrusted to professionals.
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Debamina is the parent company of Aspemir. This, officially dedicated to the construction of residential buildings, actually acts as a holding company. More than twenty companies are part of it, such as real estate companies, companies dedicated to renewable energies and the Rafa Nadal Academy. According to Vanitatisin 2021, Aspemir reported having assets worth €275 million. It is the athlete’s mother, Ana María Parera, who is the sole administrator of the company. Among the Nadal family’s multiple interests are hospitality and real estate, where they managed to find two luxury partners. The family has interests in several places such as the Secrets Aura Cozumel hotel, in Mexico, the Villa de Paris in the heart of the Spanish capital, Madrid, or even on the Costa del Sol, in Portugal and in Los Angeles. Through another company to which he belongs, Rafael Nadal, who carried the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, has invested in restaurants, but also in the production of documentaries. If he was successful in his investments, one of the best tennis players of all time has also won more than 134 million euros over the years, thanks to his victories in more than 90 tournaments and his sponsors. Enough to invest without problem in other areas and live an intense second life for Rafael Nadal.
Article written with the collaboration of 6Medias
Photo credits: Alterphotos / Panoramic / Bestimage
