It is crazy to think that arguably the greatest Spanish athlete of all time may have never even continued playing the sport that they are now idolised for beyond childhood.

However, for tennis legend Rafael Nadal, this was a real possibility, as the talented athlete was faced with having to choose between his two loves, tennis and football, as a teenager.

It’s fair to say that Nadal has proven himself far more than correct with the choice he made, being the current leader in all-time men’s major singles titles, with an incredible 22 Grand Slams to his name.

However, after watching the video of Nadal’s footballing skills, one can only wonder how far he could have gone in ‘the beautiful game’, potentially even surpassing his uncle who played for Barcelona under Johan Cruyff!

In the video uploaded onto YouTube, Nadal shows no sign of rust from his footballing teenage years and is seen dominating the pitch, scoring an unbelievable double hat-trick.

Nadal’s first goal arrives after a swift escape from an opponent with a flawless Marseille roulette before a bottom corner finish that would leave Zinedine Zidane in awe. The King of Clay’s second goal is an outrageous long distance banger on his left foot, before finishing his hat-trick with a step over and drilled finish into the bottom corner with his right foot, leaving the 'keeper stuck in the mud in the middle of the goal.

And the goalkeeper was no other than World Cup-winning captain Iker Casillas!

The three-time Champions League-winning goalkeeper is left looking astounded by Nadal’s footballing skills, spinning around in disbelief after he drilled a left-footed volley past the legendary 'keeper for his fourth goal.

The match was organised by charity Red Cross in 2008 and there was no better two Spanish sporting legends than Casillas and Nadal to headline the event, with the two teams split into ‘Friends of Rafa’ and ‘Friends of Iker’.

Many Spanish sporting legends such as F1 racer Fernando Alonso and golfer Sergio Garcia featured. However, no one stole the show quite as much as Nadal, who was making professional footballers look amateur with his unbelievable technique and athleticism.

Nadal’s love for football is not a hidden secret, commonly being spotted supporting his beloved Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, a club that he has often said he would love to become president of one day.

However, what may shock people, including Iker Casillas, is just how good the tennis legend is at the game himself!

Fans were left in disbelief in the comment section over on Reddit and YouTube as well, with one user posting: "WTF! He's literally toying with them as if he's a professional footballer!"

Another even said Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo should count themselves lucky Nadal chose to play tennis, saying: "Messi and Ronaldo are so happy he decided to go for tennis instead of football."

"Nadal could’ve gone pro in whatever sport he chose, man's just an athletic beast," another said, while one more comment read: "Damn he actually looks really good at football."

After watching the three-minute video, it makes you wonder that if the 22-time Grand Slam champion does become president of Real Madrid one day, and can sort out his recurring foot injury issues, he may ought to put himself onto the pitch and re-channel his inner Ronaldinho!