Rafael Nadal Defends Attending Atletico Madrid vs. Arsenal, Talks El Clasico

Rafael Nadal has defended his decision to sport an Atletico Madrid shirt at their UEFA Europa League clash against Arsenal last week despite being a Real Madrid fan.

The Spanish tennis superstar watched on at the Wanda Metropolitano with an Atleti shirt around his neck as the Madrid outfit progressed to the Europa League final, and he commented on the match at the Madrid Open, per the Associated Press (via ESPN):

"Well, there is a problem with today's society, that to be a true supporter of one team, it seems that you have to be anti another team. I just support Real Madrid. I have a lot of friends that are from Atletico. They are playing in a competition in Europe against an English team. I just went there to support Atletico Madrid. They invited me. I just wanted to enjoy the day, to see a great football match."

Nadal, 31, added he had been given the shirt by Atleti's president and opted to wear it as a scarf when it got "a little bit chilly."

TSN's Michael Gallo provided a photograph of Nadal in the stands:

The 16-time Grand Slam winner also offered his thoughts on Sunday's El Clasico, which saw Real and Barcelona draw 2-2 at the Camp Nou.

Per the AP (via ESPN), he refused to be drawn on a number of controversial refereeing calls: "I don't have to talk about football referees. The poor referee will have a lot on his back because you have been speaking about them for hours and hours. I'm not going to contribute to that show. I think it was a great football match, nice to see. I really enjoyed the football."

Defending champion Nadal will play either Gael Monfils or Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round as he looks to win a sixth Madrid Open title.