The Spanish legend confessed that he was unsure if he had played at the French Open for the final time after his loss to Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros last month but McEnroe doesn't think a decline in performances will have an impact on his legacy.

The former Wimbledon champion told Eurosport: "Rafa is a total class act, and because of his success and the way he is as a person, and what he brings to tennis, no one should be telling him what to do.

"I don't think it's going to hurt his legacy if he played another year and didn't do as well. He's one of the (top) two or three to me. You're looking at the three greatest players that ever lived, with Rafa, Novak, and Roger. He brought tennis up to another level."

McEnroe thinks that Nadal "still loves to play" tennis and knows how difficult it can be for top sportspeople to give up doing what they have dedicated their lives to.

He said: "That's just the way it is.

"Look at Andy Murray. He's been trying to get it right. There are a lot of players. For me, personally, it was a decline over a period of years. You could argue that a lot of players, including myself, when it doesn't appear that you're capable of winning a major, should stop.

"But that's up to him. He's got a legacy that will never be forgotten or tarnished, in my opinion. I don't think the fact that he still loves to play and wants to compete is a bad thing.

"That's a good thing. The fact that he still wants to do it, even though his body has made it really difficult the last two years, show you how much he loves tennis, and that's an incredible thing to me."