Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Modest islander Rafael Nadal, one of the best-paid millionaires in tennis, shyly declines to label himself and his worldwide image as a “brand,” preferring to play down the massive marketing side of his career.

One of the top three earners on the men’s side along with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, Nadal rules in the Spanish-speaking world as a celebrity endorser.

But it’s hard to a major reaction to that lucrative side of his life: “In America they think a lot this way (personal branding), but I’m from Spain, I’m from Mallorca, a small village. For me it’s difficult to think that way. I just can say thank you very much for all the support that I received during all my career from different companies, different sponsors.”

Nadal has contracts for the usual racquet and clothing lines and also fronts for Kia cars million-dollar Richard Mille watches, serves as the fashion face for a line of Tommy Hilfiger suits and also hypes the designer’s underwear.

“To see the support of very important companies supporting me and they want me like an ambassador of the company, something that I feel very proud of, and I feel honored about that,” the 29-year-old said.

“But I really know that all these things are for a few years, so I don’t consider myself nothing that special like brand, something like this. I just consider myself a good tennis player.

“It’s obvious that because I had good results, and I hope because I had the right values on court and off court I have a lot of companies that support me during all my career. That’s something that I am very happy with.”

Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.