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 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.
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There were fewer in attendance to watch Alcaraz trade tennis for football, but one big name was impressed with 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 of Saudi Arabian giants Al-Hilal, wrote “Calidad” which translates to “quality”, a clear sign of approval from one of football’s biggest names.
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 defeated Djokovic in straight sets in the afternoon, hours before English heartbreak in Germany. Though his commitments did not end before kick-off and the tennis star was glued to his devices throughout the evening.
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.
“Just before getting 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 made sure it was a goal. So, it was a few minutes where the nerves were so high!
“I know a few of them [Spanish national team footballers]. I spoke to them before I started the match. When I finished, one of the first FaceTimes I did was with [captain] Alvaro Morata just to wish them the best of luck. I tried to give them all my strength to try to do a good match.”
