Rafael Nadal performs honorary kick-off before Real Madrid win 35th La Liga title

Rafael Nadal, who is in Madrid to take part in the Mutua Madrid Open, performed the honorary kick-off as Real Madrid squared off against Espanyol in a La Liga encounter on Saturday.

Nadal, who will return to action after a month's hiatus owing to a stress facture in his rib, is a well-documented Real Madrid fan.

Teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz looked on from the stands as his role model took to the field alongside Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Real, who needed just a point to claim their 35th La Liga title, defeated Espanyol 4-0. The Carlo Ancelotti-coached side are assured of finishing on top of the league, having amassed 81 points with four matches still to be played.

Real Madrid are 17 points clear of second-placed Sevilla in La Liga.

Incredible start to 2022 season before stress fracture for Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal in action at the 2022 Australian Open

Rafael Nadal had an incredibly successful start to the 2022 season as he clinched the Melbourne Summer Set 1 before beating Daniil Medvedev to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Nadal carried his winning momentum into the Mexican Open, lifting the trophy without dropping a set. The Spaniard got the better of top seed Medvedev in the semifinals before defeating Cameron Norrie in the final.

The Spaniard held a 20-0 record for the season before losing to Taylor Fritz in the final of the Indian Wells Open. Nadal then announced that he had suffered a stress fracture in the rib region and would be out of action for four to six weeks ahead of the claycourt season.

The King of Clay missed the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he has won 11 titles, and was also forced to withdraw from the Barcelona Open, which he has won on a staggering 12 occasions.

Nadal stated via a tweet that he was excited to return to action in Madrid despite a lower-than-desired state of preparedness.

"Despite arriving just before preparation and being difficult, I really want to play and play at home since the opportunities are few," he wrote.

"To try to do it in the best possible way. See you in Madrid," he added.

Rafael Nadal has been seeded third in Madrid this time around behind Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev. The Spaniard has won the Madrid Open title a record five times.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie and Jannik Sinner are the other top players who will be taking part in the ATP Masters 1000 event.