After spending his entire career at Real Madrid, goalscoring legend Raúl González Blanco is ready to move away from the Bernabeu. At the age of 33, and having lost his place in the starting line-up, it is thought that Raúl is looking for a new challenge, with several top European clubs fighting for his signature.
It was thought that Tottenham were close to signing the Spaniard, but German club Schalke are currently the hot favorites to get his signature. He has amassed 228 goals in 550 appearances for Real Madrid, where he has also won 3 Champions league titles. With such pure talent, most clubs would welcome him with open arms – Manchester were rumored to be trying to win him over with a few rounds of bingo games and cheese crackers.
Raúl is a product of Atletico Madrid’s youth system but was picked up by Real Madrid in 1992/93. His ascent through the Madridista factory can only be described as meteoric. Jorge Valdano gave Raúl his debut at the ripe age of only 17, when he became the youngest player ever to wear a Real Madrid shirt.
The Real Madrid captain has scored over 190 goals in close to 500 games in 14 seasons in La Liga, numbers that don’t just highlight his tremendous talent, but also establish him as one of the best Spanish players ever to play the game. His acute goal-scoring instinct has earned him the Pichichi Trophy in 1999 (25 goals in 37 games) and 2001 (24 goals in 36 games).
In similar fashion, Guti also announced he was also leaving the Bernabeu having spent 15 years with the club. He made 542 games for Real Madrid, making his debut for Real in December 1995, having joined the club as a nine-year-old. He was most instrumental in the side which won La Liga in 2001, as he scored 14 goals for the capital club. In total, he scored 77 goals and won 15 trophies including five league titles and three Champions League medals. Not a bad return! Next stop for Guti looks to Turkey and Besiktas.
