The script of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was a perfect one for Novak Djokovic. On the one hand, he defeated Rafael Nadal in the second round, but he also went on to win the elusive gold medal to complete his trophy cabinet. With this monumental victory, Djokovic also settled the GOAT debate, according to several bigwigs, one among whom was the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic. Earlier today, Vucic made a provocative statement on the comparison between Djokovic and Nadal, which angered the Spaniard’s fans.

Owing to Nadal’s decorated career, his statue has been built in his hometown, Mallorca. Additionally, there is also an airport named after him in his honor. Thus, Vucic felt that Serbia should also show what Djokovic has achieved for the country. While announcing Djokovic’s museum in Belgrade, he said, “Mallorca has a Rafael Nadal museum. We will make sure to show what Novak Djokovic has done for our country, while attracting tourists. Novak is taller than Nadal.”

However, Vucic’s comparisons between Nadal and Djokovic didn’t go down well with the Spanish fans, who felt that the Serbian President was rude in his statement. On the other hand, Vucic also aimed for Serbia to become a tourist attraction by utilizing Djokovic’s popularity and showcasing his precious moments in the museum. He went on to add, “I believe we can complete it before the EXPO and offer it as an attraction for tourists… With this, we want to show how much we respect what he has accomplished, and also attract tourists.”

While Vucic’s aim was to adopt the Spanish model and showcase Djokovic’s achievements to the world, fans got upset after he downplayed Nadal’s achievements. As a result, they took to social media to vent their frustration.

Serbian President invites the wrath of Rafael Nadal fans

As soon as Vucic announced the plan for Djokovic’s museum in Belgrade, his speech went viral on social media. Further, a section where he called Djokovic taller than Nadal made the rounds on Twitter and angered the Spaniard’s fans, who made their feelings felt by slamming him for his comments. A section of fans felt that he was jealous of Nadal’s popularity and badly wanted to copy the Spanish model. One of the fans wrote, “Bwahahaha such jealousy and obsession of the copy cats, so badly wants to be better than Nadal. Next what , want a statue outside RLA lmfao.”

Subsequently, some fans pointed to the high taxes being levied in Serbia. Currently, Serbia charges 10-20% as tax depending on the income level. As a result, one fan angrily mentioned, “The first statement the Serbian president gives has Nadal mentioned more than Djokovic, worry about your guy residing in Monaco/Marbella to evade Serbian taxes and not some 42-year-old Mallorcan.” However, this wasn’t just that. One Twitter user revealed that Nadal lived rent-free in Spain while Vucic was talking about making Serbia a tourist attraction.

On the other hand, some fans felt that it was a deliberate attempt to provoke Nadal fans after Djokovic won the Olympic gold medal. One of the fans felt that this situation could’ve been avoided, saying, “Why talk about Rafa in real life except to provoke?” Lastly, one fan felt that Vucic statement about Nadal showed that he was insecure about him and revealed, “Even their president is insecure about Rafa.”

Given that both Nadal and Djokovic have had contrasting skills and decorated careers, it is not ideal to make any comparison and the GOAT debate is far from settled. Do you think Vucic was right in his comparisons between Nadal and Djokovic? Let us know your views in the comments below.