Nadal pulled out of the Paris Masters two weeks ago with a knee problem but said on Friday that he was confident he would still take part in the ATP World Tour Finals.
The Spaniard has never won the season-ending tournament and was determined to rectify that but during the 157-minute epic against Goffin it became obvious he was playing through large amounts of pain.
And afterwards he immediately withdrew from the competition, saying he would have done so whether he had won or lost the deciding set against the Belgian.
“My season is finished,” Nadal said.
“I had the commitment with the event, with the city, with myself. I tried hard.
“I did the thing that I had to do to try to be ready to play.
“But I am really not ready to play, no? I really fought a lot during the match, but knowing that probably was a big chance to be the last match of the season. That what’s going to be.
“It’s not a decision at all. It’s about the pain
“I cannot hold with enough power to keep playing.”
Nadal was broken twice in the opening set but twice fought back before Goffin took the opening tie-breaker.
The second was a closer affair and the world No 1’s fighting spirit kicked in as he saved four match points, including three in one game, before forcing a deciding set.
But his knee began to play a serious role in the match and even he admitted he was surprised by what he was able to achieve given his level of pain.
“I tried, but seriously was miracle to be very close in the score during the match,” Nadal added.
“It really don’t make sense.
“This is a decision [to quit] that I took during the match.
“Even winning, even losing, I going to pull out because I was not enjoying on court at all.
“Was not fun to play like this.”
