Carlos Alcaraz attracted a lot of attention after leaving tennis in favor of soccer, the jersey of the iconic Argentine team Boca Juniors.
Alcaraz donned the blue and yellow of Boca for the yearly players vs coaches football match at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy, and looked thrilled to follow in the footsteps of the biggest tennis legends.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic famously graced La Bombonera stadium after a Boca Juniors vs All Boys exhibition match and took part in a penalty shoot-out in front of a packed crowd in 2013.
There were fewer people there to watch Alcaraz swap tennis for football, but a big decision inspired the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion.
Neymar, who has a reported net worth of £278million became the most expensive footballer of all time in 2017 when Paris Saint-Germain spent £200m to sign him from Barcelona, was among those in the comments of Alcaraz’s Instagram post.
The Brazilian superstar, now a member of Saudi giant Al-Hilal, wrote “Quality”, a transparent sign of approval from one of the biggest names in football.
Neymar may have crossed the fierce Spanish divide by commending a big Real Madrid fan as a former Barcelona favourite, but Alcaraz has showcased on several occasions just how invested he is in football.
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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 the English heartbreak in Germany. But his commitments didn’t end before the start of the match and the tennis star remained glued to his devices all night.
Both male and female Wimbledon winners attend the champions’ dinner and share a dance, which directly clashed with the European Championship final, and Alcaraz could not even leave his car before it was confirmed that Spain’s winner was not offside.
Mikel Oyarzabal got the winning goal off the bench to crush England’s dreams of ending a 58-year trophy drought, but there had been suspicions of offside before VAR confirmed there was not an 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 [winning] goal, so I thought it was offside. I couldn’t get out of the car until I was sure it was a goal. So there were a few minutes where the nerves were on edge!
“I know some of them [Spanish national team footballers]. I spoke to them before starting the game. When I finished, one of the first FaceTimes I did with [captain] Álvaro Morata just to wish them the best of luck. I tried to give them all my strength to try to play an intelligent game.
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