“That the Lakers retire Pau’s shirt is incredible,” Rafael Nadal begins in the video he dedicated to Pau Gasol this Tuesday, the day the Los Angeles Lakers will retire the number 16 shirt of the Spanish player. “I am very excited that one of the most emblematic teams, if not the most, in the NBA removes Pau’s shirt, who is not American, who is Spanish,” says the tennis player from Manacor in the video.
Nadal assures that Gasol is one of the “maximum historical references” of Spanish sport and that he has been a “pioneer” in achieving achievements that no Spaniard had reached before. “Pau has brought us very close and has marked the way for many others who will come after thanks to what he has done before,” says Nadal.
The tennis player, currently ninth in the ATP ranking, refers to Gasol as a “great friend and a very good example”, due to the values of an athlete and his way of doing things, as well as his sporting achievements. “I have many memories of unforgettable matches. I have been lucky enough to experience Pau’s career up close, which makes it even more special in a personal capacity”, says Nadal, referring to the friendship that unites him with the Lakers legend.
You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook and Twitteror sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
