Carlos Alcaraz has attracted plenty of attention after ditching tennis in favour of football, sporting the shirt of iconic Argentinian team Boca Juniors.
Alcaraz donned Boca’s blue and yellow for the annual gathering of soccer players and coaches at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy and seemed excited to follow in the footsteps of tennis’ greatest legends.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic graced La Bombonera Stadium after a Boca Juniors exhibition match against All Boys and took part in a penalty shootout in front of a packed crowd in 2013.
There were fewer people there to see Alcaraz switch from tennis to football, but a big decision inspired the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion.
Neymar, who has a reported net worth of £278 million, the most expensive footballer of all time in 2017 when Paris Saint-Germain spent £200 million to sign him from Barcelona, was among those commenting on Alcaraz’s Instagram post.
The Brazilian superstar, now of Saudi giant Al-Hilal, wrote “Quality”, a transparent sign of approval from one of the biggest names in football.
Neymar would possibly have overcome Spain’s fierce division by praising a big Real Madrid fan as a former Barcelona favourite, but Alcaraz has shown just how involved he is in football.
Members of our network benefit from special offers, promotions and advertising from us and our partners. You can consult at any time. Read our privacy policy
We use your registration to provide content in the manner in which you have consented and as we perceive you. This would likely come from our and third-party advertising as we perceive it. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our privacy policy
The 21-year-old was extremely conflicted this year after winning Wimbledon, as it took place on the same day that Spain faced England in the final of Euro 2024.
Alcaraz beat Djokovic in straight sets in the afternoon, hours before England’s heartbreak in Germany. But his commitments did not end before the start of the match and the tennis star remained glued to his devices all night.
The male and female Wimbledon winners attend the Champions Dinner and participate in a dance, which directly conflicts with the European Championship final, and Alautomobileaz could not even leave his car until it was proven that the Spanish winner He wasn’t out of the game.
Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winning goal from the bench to dampen England’s dreams of ending a 58-year trophy drought as offside was suspected before VAR showed there had been no infringement .
“It started on the phone,” said Alcaraz as he explained how he managed his tennis duties and watching Spain. “Then it switched to the TV at home and then coming [to the dinner] on the iPad, so it was kind of mixed.
“Right before they took me out of the car, I saw the purpose [of winning], so I figured it was offside. I couldn’t get out of the car until I made sure it had a purpose. So there were a few minutes where The nerves were on edge!
“I know some of them [the players of the Spanish national team]. I spoke to them before the start of the match. When I finished, one of the first FaceTimers I did with [captain] Alvaro Morata just to wish them the best of luck. I tried to give them all my strength to try to have a smart combination.
INVESTIGATION
CONNECT WITH US
DOCUMENT OF THE DAY
View today’s front and back pages, download the newspaper, request past issues and use the old Daily Express newspaper archive.
EXPRESS. CO. UK
Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?