International sports stars and celebrities are supporting the global padel boom.
Swedish football superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic fell in love with the game so much that he invested in a major court-building company.
He helped to fund the Padel Zenter chain at multiple sites across Sweden and his former Manchester United team-mate, French star Paul Pogba, flew over to join him on court when the first venue opened.
As Spanish and South American stars signed for clubs across the world, they took their love of padel with them, packing their padel gear alongside their football boots.
To keep their new signings happy, numerous top clubs are building padel courts at their training campuses.
Liverpool and Manchester City are not only the biggest rivals in the English Premier League, they are also benchmarks for the popularity of padel.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and ace striker Mo Salah are enthusiastic fans and Argentine striker Sergio Aguero is understood to have been the best padel player during his decade at Manchester City.
He retired last year after a heart condition ended his spell with Barcelona but he is busy playing padel back home in Buenos Aires.
David Beckham has also been spotted on court, as have other megastars Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Zinedine Zidane and John Terry.
Tennis stars Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis are also keen padel players.
Murray, like ibrahimovic, is involved in promoting the sport with Edinburgh-based company Game4Padel.
In the old days, footballers would often buy a pub when they retired. Now, news reaches THE PADEL PAPER that several wealthy sports stars are planning for their future by investing in padel.
As this sporting craze spreads across the world, that looks like a wise plan of action.
