Rafael Nadal's huge net worth and rarely seen wife as tennis legend announces retirement

The 38-year-old will make his final appearance on court later this year

Tennis great Rafael Nadal has announced he will retire from the sport at the end of this season.

The 38-year-old star will make his final appearance on the tennis court next month as he represents Spain at the Davis Cup finals in Malaga. It will see him bring the curtain down on a remarkable career that has seen him win 22 Grand Slam titles, including two Wimbledon championships and a record 14 French Open singles titles.

In an emotional video message, Nadal said: “I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been a few difficult years. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.

“It is obviously a difficult decision. One that has taken me some time to make. In this life everything has a beginning and and end and I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been much longer and much more successful than I could ever have imagined.”

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In addition to his wins at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, Nadal also has two Australian Open and four US Open titles to his name, as well as two Olympic gold medals and four Davis Cup wins. Such a long list of achievements has seen him regarded as one of the Big Three in men's tennis, alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and one of the greatest players of all time.

Of course, Nadal's phenomenal success has also proved very financially lucrative for him and his family, with the Spaniard retiring as the all-time second-highest earning player in the Open Era when it comes to prize money.

Over the course of his 23-year career, he has banked a staggering $135 million (£103m) in prize money, putting him behind only Djokovic in the all-time highest earners list.

Nadal has also been involved in several different sponsorship deals over the years, with endorsements including Kia, Emporio Armani, PokerStars and luxury watchmaker Richard Mille. These deals see him retire with an incredible estimated net worth of around $225 million (£168m) according to Marca.

Now that he is retiring, he will have more time to spend with his wife, former sports marketer Xisca Perello, and their two-year-old son - also called Rafael - at their stunning £3 million mansion in Majorca.

The pair have known each other for over 20 years and reportedly started dating in 2005. They finally got engaged 14 years later, before getting married at a Majorcan castle in front of 350 guests.

Among those invited to the star-studded ceremony were actors Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman as well as faces from across the tennis world.

Xisca is rarely seen at her husband's matches and has previously spoken about her wish to stay out of the spotlight, despite Nadal's celebrity status. In a 2011 interview with the Telegraph, she explained why she chooses to keep her distance, saying: "He needs his space when he is competing, and just the idea of me hanging around and waiting on his needs all day tires me out.

"It would asphyxiate me. And then he would have to be worrying about me... No. If I followed him everywhere, I think there's a risk we might stop getting along."