Rafael

The 22-time Grand Slam winner is to be ratified onto club’s board of directors.

Real Madrid are set to add a champion from another ⁠sporting arena to ⁠their boardroom as 22-time tennis Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal’s appointment as a director is to be put to members for ⁠ratification, the club says.

The board agreed to submit the appointment to the General Assembly of ⁠Delegated Members. Nadal is already an honorary member of the club.

“It is a source of immense pride for Real Madrid and for all our supporters that a figure of his sporting and personal stature … is to join ‌our Board of Directors,” Real said in a statement on Wednesday.

The club highlighted Nadal’s sporting achievements, including 92 singles titles, two Olympic gold medals, five Davis Cup triumphs with Spain and the world number one ranking.

The club said his qualities beyond those honours – including humility, respect for opponents and commitment to charity – mirrored the club’s own.

“All ⁠these values form part of Real Madrid’s identity, and ⁠Rafael Nadal has embodied and championed them throughout his sporting career,” said the statement announcing his appointment at a board meeting on Tuesday.

Nadal welcomed the invitation.

“I would like to thank President Florentino Perez and the Board for ⁠inviting me to join the Board of Directors of Real Madrid,” he wrote on social media.

“I have ⁠accepted this invitation with great enthusiasm, keen to ⁠learn and to contribute as much as I can.”

Nadal, who retired from tennis in November 2024, has long been touted as a potential successor to Perez, ‌although he has played down the prospect.

Perez, 79, secured another four-year term in June after Real’s first contested presidential election in two decades.

More ‌than ‌a third of voting members backed challenger Enrique Riquelme, who opposed plans to bring outside investment into the member-owned club.

Brazilian Rafael Camara will join the US-based Haas team for his debut Formula 1 season in 2027.

The 21-year-old, who is leading the Formula 2 championship, has been chosen after a selection process including a total of four drivers.

Camara was picked over the reigning F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli and Haas reserve drivers Jack Doohan and Ryo Hirakawa after they were assessed in tests in previous years’ F1 cars.

Camara, Fornaroli and Hirakawa were all assessed at a test at Portugal’s Portimao track in August, Doohan separately.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said that Camara had been the quickest driver at the tests.

“I always said we would choose driver by performance. He showed incredible speed. That was the fully overriding factor above everything else,” Komatsu said.

“In Portimao, he was just simply outstanding. We really wanted to go for someone who had that natural speed.

“He showed that he could handle himself very well with not a huge amount of time to learn the car. He showed us more than just raw speed.”

Komatsu added that all the drivers tested came with financial backing, adding: “But it was clear he was the quickest guy, so we took him purely based on that.”

Haas have not said who will race their other car next season, but it is considered only a matter of time before Briton Oliver Bearman is confirmed in the seat for a third season.

Komatsu said: “It is our intention to continue with Ollie. It is just a matter of timing and finalising certain details.”

Bearman and Camara are both members of the Ferrari driver academy.

Frenchman Esteban Ocon will leave the team at the end of the year after two seasons alongside Bearman, Haas confirmed at the end of last month.

Camara said: “It’s an important step in my career and I want to thank (owner) Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for the trust they have placed in me.

“Now my focus is on preparing myself in the best possible way for this new challenge.

“There will be a lot to learn, and I’m looking forward to working closely with the team, understanding the car and continuing to develop as a driver.”