me too - for me Nadal has always been a legend to me.
YOu are right he would not give up that easily - but that too is true -sometime the injuries are fatal and they kick off the players off their career.
It's not just about giving up, you have to see how Federer is still trying to be able to play and win the GS especially Wimbledon because it is his favorite surface but that didn't happen because an injury forced him to retire because his body was no longer able to compete and maybe Nadal would be the same but retiring with such great achievement is something to be proud of.
But I guess his injury is not that worst compare to Federer or to Andy Murray, so with proper exercise, he could rehabilitate his body to still compete at least one GS in this calendar year and chase another title and get one ahead of Djokovic.
So we will see, I doubt that he will retire though, of course his name is in the discussion of the GOAT.
But so far, Djokovic is still far from retiring so he can still more GS from Nadal, but for sure Rafa has a target for this year's slam.
Realistically, given his age and numerous injuries, I think that Nadal has a chance for perhaps only one more GS in Paris this year, but even that will be very difficult to achieve considering the competition, not only Djokovic but also the ever-improving Alcaraz.
Djokovic is slightly younger and healthier and currently seems ready to win a few more GS, primarily in Wimbledon and Australia.
If it weren't for the Covid crisis and the ban on performances for Djokovic in Australia, the cancellation of Wimbledon and other unforeseen situations, I'm sure that Djokovic would already have an unattainable advantage in the number of GS wins over Nadal.
However, if Djokovic avoids injuries and continues to play at his current level for at least two more years, I think he will have no problem winning a few more GS and becoming the GOAT.