Rafel Nadal and the lessons of effort

PalmaThat Rafael Nadal worked hard, and very much so, on the court, and that he achieved milestones that seemed impossible, is a fact. He deserves all due sporting respect. However, having to read in an interview that one must instill in young people the culture of effort deserves reflection. We can agree that it is always good to educate adolescents in this culture, without falling into the temptation, so common in bar-side conversations, of considering that all young people are lazy.

But if the person making these statements about the need to 'work hard' is part of a family business group that has seen laws tailored to them to develop their academy, overcoming the urban planning limitations that prevented the project from being carried out, then we must ask Rafael not to overstep.

Neither the PP nor the PSOE had the courage to stop the Nadal family. On this occasion, the mayor of Manacor, Miquel Oliver, of MÉS per Mallorca, did have the dignity to oppose making prêt-à-porter rules. The project was very simple and invented decades ago: taking rustic land where the rest of us mortals cannot do anything other than produce food and building an academy and a hotel on it. Precisely those who have the most resources and income should be exemplary and buy the land at the appropriate price.

To top it off, one of the arguments of the defenders of the tailored laws was the tennis player's uniqueness. A few months ago, they were exposed because part of the business has been sold to an investment fund.

Rafael's example on the courts is as spectacular as his discretion would be necessary when we talk about the culture of effort.