New Delhi: Superstar Kylian Mbappe made his La Liga debut in a 1-1 draw against Real Mallorca. Though he couldn’t score as the defending champions dropped points on the first matchday, he was generous enough to gift a Real Madrid shirt to tennis icon Rafael Nadal after the match.
Real were frustrated in their away fixture, which was witnessed from the stands by Nadal, a Mallorca born but Madrid supporter.
Four days earlier, Mbappe had scored on his Real Madrid debut, helping them to a 2-0 win over Atalanta BC in the UEFA Super Cup title match.
On Sunday, Madrid went ahead through Rodrygo’s first half goal, which was cancelled out by Vedat Muriqi’s second half strike.
Meet and greet of sporting heroes
After soaking in the action at Son Moix stadium, Nadal went towards the changing room tunnel after the final whistle to meet and greet the French striker.
They warmly exchanged an embrace, after which Mbappe brought out a white Madrid jersey from his bag and handed it to the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
Nadal happily accepted the gift and shared another hug before he and Mbappe went their separate ways.
Speaking about the performance of the teams, Nadal praised Mallorca for denying Madrid victory.
“Mallorca played a very complete match. I’m happy with the result,” he said, as quoted by yahoo.com.
Nadal and Mbappe have always spoken of their admiration and fondness for each other.
Apart from Nadal, Argentina’s national football team coach Lionel Scaloni was also spotted in the stands following the action.
Momentazo 🎾⚽️
Mbappé le regala su primera camiseta de liga con el Real Madrid a Nadal pic.twitter.com/bH7S1Jxb8s
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 19, 2024
Kylian Mbappe couldn’t score on his La Liga debut for Real Madrid but gifted a jersey to tennis icon Rafael Nadal Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
