Raúl (footballer)
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Raúl González Blanco (; born 27 June 1977), known as Raúl, is a Spanish
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
and former player who played as a
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
. He is the current manager of
Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in Primera Federación – Group 1 for the 2022–23 season. It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a cap ...
, the reserve team of
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
club
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
. Raúl is regarded as one of the greatest players of his era. Raúl was born in the San Cristóbal de los Ángeles neighborhood of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
where he played for the local youth team before moving to the
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...
youth team. He later moved to Real Madrid's
youth academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...
and played at its various levels. In 1994, he signed his first professional contract with the fourth division team
Real Madrid C Real Madrid Club de Fútbol C, commonly known as Real Madrid C, was a Spanish association football team that played in the Tercera División – Group 7. It was Real Madrid's second reserve team. They played their home games at La Ciudad del ...
, and then was swiftly promoted to the first team. He spent 16 years of his career playing for Real Madrid and is the club's third all-time top goalscorer with 323 goals and has the most appearances in the history of the club, with 741. With ''Los Blancos'', Raúl won six
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
titles, three
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
titles, scoring in two finals, four
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...
titles, one
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
and two Intercontinental Cups. In 2003, he was appointed
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of the team and retained the position until he left the club in 2010. He then signed for Schalke 04, where he won a
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
and DFL-Supercup, before signing for Qatari club
Al Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in th ...
in 2012, where he won the league and the
Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup ( ar, كأس أمير قطر), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by 18 first and second division teams. The most successful is Al Sad ...
. He ended his career with
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...
in 2015, after winning a domestic treble. Raúl is the fifth-highest goalscorer in the history of La Liga with 228 goals. He is also the highest Spanish scorer in European leagues, with 256 goals, scoring 228 goals in La Liga and 28 goals in the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
. He also has the third-most appearances in the history of La Liga, 550 matches. He is the fifth highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 71 goals, and has played the fifth most games. He has also played 1,000 matches in his career, one of only 18 players to have done so. Although he did not win any major competitions while playing for the Spain national team, he scored a then-record 44 goals in 102 appearances for ''la Roja'', appearing in three
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
s and two European championships. Raúl took over the captaincy of the side in 2002 and held it until 2006, the year in which he played his last international match. Raúl was named the top international goalscorer in the world by
International Federation of Football History & Statistics The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
in 1999, and ranked second in the 2001 Ballon d'Or and third in the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year. In 2004, he was named in the
FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...
list of the world's greatest living players, and was included in the UEFA list of the 50-best European players of the 1954–2004 period. He was part of the European Team of the Year of
European Sports Media The European Sports Media (ESM), formerly European Sports Magazines, is an association of football-related publications in Europe. Members European Sports Media was established in 1989 as an international body for football journalism. Its nine fo ...
in 1997, 1999 and 2000. Raúl won two Pichichi trophies (1999 and 2001), the top goalscorer award of the UEFA Champions League (2000 and 2001), five
Don Balón Award From 1976 until 2010, the Spanish sports magazine ''Don Balón'' conferred the Don Balón Award (''Premio Don Balón'') to the best Spanish player, the best foreign player, the best referee and the breakthrough player in La Liga. These awards cease ...
s (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) and one Best Player Award at the Intercontinental Cup in 1998.


Club career


Youth clubs

Raúl's career began at his local team CD San Cristóbal de los Ángeles playing for their ''Alevín'' team and the ''Infantil'' the next season. He signed with
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...
's ''Infantil'' team and won a national title with the ''Cadete'' team the following season. Following Atlético's then-president
Jesús Gil Gregorio Jesús Gil y Gil (12 March 1933 – 14 May 2004) was a Spanish businessman and politician. He served as Mayor of Marbella between 1991 and 2002, and presided for a 16-year tenure as president of the football club Atlético de Madrid ...
decision to close their youth academy as a cost-saving measure, Raúl moved on to Real Madrid's ''Cadete'' team in La Fábrica. The following season, he was promoted to the ''Juvenil C'' team and subsequently went on to play for their ''Juvenil B'' and '' Juvenil A'' team. While with the Real youth set-up, Raúl won the Dallas Cup in 1993 and 1994.


Real Madrid

He started his professional career in the 1994–95 season with
Real Madrid C Real Madrid Club de Fútbol C, commonly known as Real Madrid C, was a Spanish association football team that played in the Tercera División – Group 7. It was Real Madrid's second reserve team. They played their home games at La Ciudad del ...
. He scored 16 goals in just nine games (including five in one match against CD Corralejo) and was swiftly promoted to the first team by coach
Jorge Valdano Jorge Alberto Francisco Valdano Castellanos (born 4 October 1955) is an Argentine former football player, coach, and the former general manager of Real Madrid. He is currently working as a commentator for beIN Sports. Nicknamed "The Philosophe ...
, replacing
Emilio Butragueño Emilio Butragueño Santos (; born 22 July 1963) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker. He was best known for his spell with Real Madrid. Nicknamed ''El Buitre'' (The Vulture), he was a member of the '' La Quinta del Buitre'' ...
in a symbolic "passing of the crown." He became the youngest player – 17 years and 124 days – ever to play for the senior side, though the record was broken by Alberto Rivera later that same season. On 29 October 1994, in an away game against
Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...
at
La Romareda Estadio La Romareda is the home stadium of Real Zaragoza, in Zaragoza. It was inaugurated on 8 September 1957, with a game between Real Zaragoza and CA Osasuna (4–3). The official capacity is 33,608, with an average attendance of around 20,000 ...
, he created a goal for strike partner
Iván Zamorano Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora (; born 18 January 1967) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers, along with Marcelo Salas, Leonel Sánchez and Elias Figuer ...
, heralding the demise of Butragueño in the process. The next week, Raúl scored his first goal in his second senior game on a
home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
debut against Madrid rivals and former youth club
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...
in a bitter
derby match A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. The intensity of the rivalry can range anywhere from a light hearted banter to serious violen ...
. Fully establishing himself as a fixture in the first team, Raúl registered a total of nine goals in 28 appearances to help Real Madrid win the 1994–95 league championship in his first season. With Real Madrid, he won several honours, including further La Liga titles in 1996–97 (scoring 21 La Liga goals), 2000–01 (scoring 24 La Liga goals), and 2002–03 (scoring 16 La Liga goals in a campaign truncated by a bout of
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...
for which Raúl was hospitalised). During the period from 1998 to 2002, Raúl and Real Madrid also won three
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
trophies in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
,
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, and
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
. For most of this time, Raúl struck up a prolific scoring partnership with
Fernando Morientes Fernando Morientes Sánchez (; born 5 April 1976) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently a manager. He played for a number of clubs during his career, including Real Madrid, Monaco, Liverpool and Valenci ...
and later
Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...
. During a La Liga game against fierce rivals Barcelona at the
Nou Camp Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcel ...
in October 1999, Raúl silenced the hostile home crowd of almost 100,000 fans when he scored and then memorably celebrated his goal by putting a finger to his lips as though to tell them to be quiet. Raúl took over the
captaincy A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule ...
of Real Madrid when
Fernando Hierro Fernando Ruiz Hierro (; born 23 March 1968) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder. He is the current sporting director of Liga MX club C.D. Guadalajara. He won five La Liga ...
was transferred in 2003, a responsibility he held until leaving the club in 2010. Despite appearing in two finals, in
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
(in which he scored) and
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, Raúl never lifted the
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
. He became the first player to score 50 Champions League goals when he scored in a 2–1 group stage win over
Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
on 28 September 2005, and was also the first to make 100 appearances in the competition. He was also the first player to score in two Champions League finals, since the competition was renamed, scoring in the finals of both
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
against
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
in the
Stade de France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foot ...
, Saint-Denis, and
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
against
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, th ...
at
Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. Raúl holds the distinction of having never been
sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
in his 17 years at the professional level. On 11 November 2008, Raúl scored his 300th goal for Real Madrid with a hat-trick against
Real Unión Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RFE ...
, with Real winning the match 4–3 but being eliminated on
away goals The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
after drawing 6–6 on aggregate. In total, Raúl scored 323 goals for Real Madrid, breaking the long-standing club record of
Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...
(307) with a volleyed goal against
Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...
on 15 February 2009. He is presently fifth on the all-time list of La Liga goalscorers, behind Argentine
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
, Portuguese
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
, Spaniard
Telmo Zarra Telmo may refer to: People * Saint Telmo (died 303), also known as Erasmus of Formia, Christian martyr and saint * Pedro González Telmo (1190-1246), Castilian friar and priest * Luis Telmo Paz y Miño (1884-1962), President of the Supreme Milit ...
and Mexican
Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager, who played as a forward. A prolific goalscorer known for his spectacular strikes and volleys, he is widely regarded as the greatest Mexican fo ...
. Raúl and fellow long-serving teammate Iker Casillas were both awarded "contracts for life" in 2008, the terms of which stipulated that the contracts would be renewed annually for as long as they played 30 matches each season. On 23 September 2009, Raúl equalled
Manolo Sanchís Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo (; born 23 May 1965) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a sweeper. A part of the famous ''La Quinta del Buitre'' which stemmed from the Real Madrid youth academy, he was the only of its five members to ...
' league appearance record for Real Madrid, and is second in La Liga behind
Andoni Zubizarreta Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta (, ; born 23 October 1961) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The all-time most capped player for the Spain national team for several years, he played with individual and team su ...
, who played in 622 matches. Along with years of captaincy for both Real Madrid and Spain, Raúl was known as "''El Capitan''" ("The Captain"). Raúl's last touch with the ball as a Real Madrid player before an injury ruled him out of action for the rest of that season was to score his last goal, the opening goal scored on 24 April 2010 in a 2–1 away victory against
Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...
in
La Romareda Estadio La Romareda is the home stadium of Real Zaragoza, in Zaragoza. It was inaugurated on 8 September 1957, with a game between Real Zaragoza and CA Osasuna (4–3). The official capacity is 33,608, with an average attendance of around 20,000 ...
, coincidentally the stadium where he made his debut in 1994. It was scored in the 50th minute after Raúl (himself only on the pitch as a substitute for
Rafael van der Vaart Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is currently the assistant manager of Danish 2nd Division club Esbjerg fB. Van der Vaart began his c ...
after 15 minutes) had signalled he could not physically continue and was prepared to be substituted off for
Karim Benzema Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Real Madrid. A creative and prolific forward, Benzema is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. ...
one minute after the goal. Before the substitution could be made, Real Madrid launched a counter-attack to create a goal. Though Raúl ran to a slow hobble, he shuffled into the box and was able to poke the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo's pass. Having spent the rest of the season recovering from that injury, the club confirmed on 25 July 2010 that Raúl would be leaving the club, a day after his teammate
Guti José María Gutiérrez Hernández (born 31 October 1976), known as Guti, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, currently a manager. During his career, he played almost exclusively for Real Madrid ...
confirmed he was also leaving after a 15-year spell.


Schalke 04

Raúl signed a two-year contract with
Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
on 28 July 2010. Schalke head coach
Felix Magath Wolfgang Felix Magath (; born 26 July 1953) is a German football manager and former player. The most notable spell of his playing career was with Hamburger SV, with whom he won three Bundesliga titles, the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final a ...
hailed the signing and told the club website, "It's great news for FC Schalke 04, I am pleased that we have succeeded in signing such an exceptional footballer and world-class striker switching to the Bundesliga for Schalke 04." Raúl chose Schalke because they qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. Raúl scored his first goal for the club during his first match on 1 August 2010 with a brace in a 3–1 victory over
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
in the final match of the pre-season competition LIGA total! Cup
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. One week later, he made his competitive debut in the 2010 DFL-Supercup on 7 August 2010 again against Bayern, but this time he failed to score in the 2–0 defeat. Raúl made his
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
debut on 21 August 2010 in a 2–1 defeat against
Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
. and scored his first goal for Schalke in the Bundesliga against
Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...
on 25 September 2010 in a 2–2 draw. After a quiet start, he rediscovered his goalscoring form in the Bundesliga with a brace against
FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. The football department is part of a larger sp ...
on 5 November in a 3–0 win, and on 20 November, he scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 4–0 win over
Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...
. On 18 December, he scored his second hat-trick for Schalke in a 3–0 win against 1. FC Köln. Raúl scored another crucial goal on 2 March 2011 in a 1–0 victory over Bayern Munich in the semi-final of
2010–11 DFB-Pokal The 2010–11 DFB-Pokal was the 68th season of the annual German football cup competition. The competition began on 13 August 2010 with the first round and concluded on 21 May 2011 with the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. The competition wa ...
. After being absent for six years, Schalke ultimately reached the finals since 2005. In the final match, they played against
MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...
, the first 2. Bundesliga team which reached the final since 2004. Raúl never won a domestic cup with Real Madrid (the
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
), but on 21 May 2011, in his first season, he finally won a domestic cup and got his maiden trophy with his new club. They won the tournament with a 5–0 win at the
Olympiastadion Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to: * Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'') * Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...
in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. This success was followed with victory two months later on 23 July 2011 in the 2011 DFL-Supercup against the league champions and rivals
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...
. In European play, Raúl has since become the highest goal scorer in all
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
competitions with 73 goals, ahead of
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
veteran Filippo Inzaghi with 70 goals. He scored 71 goals in the Champions League (66 goals with Real Madrid and five with Schalke 04) and in addition his two goals with ''Los Blancos'', one goal in the 2000 UEFA Super Cup and the other one in the 1998 Intercontinental Cup. On 22 October 2010, Raúl scored twice against Hapoel Tel Aviv in a 3–1 win, which tied him with German legend
Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...
for the most European goals. Raúl fully broke this record on 15 February 2011 on his return to Spain with a crucial away goal in the round of 16 tie against Valencia at the
Mestalla Stadium Mestalla Stadium ( es, Estadio de Mestalla , ca-valencia, Estadi de Mestalla ) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia Club de Fútbol and has a capacity of 48,600 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium i ...
in a 1–1 draw. In the quarter-finals, Raúl scored two goals against
Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
: one goal in the first leg, a 5–2 away win at the
San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...
, and one in the second leg, a 2–1 home win at the
Veltins-Arena Arena AufSchalke (), currently known as Veltins-Arena () for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for Bundesliga club FC ...
. Schalke progressed to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history, where they played against
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
. Schalke lost the first match 2–0, which was their first home defeat this season in the tournament, and lost again 4–1 in
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
. Despite the defeat, Raúl considered it an honour that he had swapped shirts with
Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his List of one-club men in association football, entir ...
. On 19 November 2011, he captained Schalke for the first time due to an injury to
Benedikt Höwedes Benedikt Höwedes (born 29 February 1988) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent the majority of his playing career for Schalke 04, which he captained for six seasons, and represented the Germany national ...
in a 4–0 home win against 1. FC Nürnberg. He also scored the second goal and assisted the fourth in that match. Raúl scored another hat-trick against Werder Bremen on 17 December 2011. The goals came in a 5–0 win that cemented Schalke's position in third place going into the winter break. On 19 February 2012, he scored the 400th goal of his career; at that time he had scored 323 with Real Madrid, 44 with Spain and 33 with Schalke. On 5 April 2012, in the second leg of the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
match against
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
, he scored his 77th goal in a European competition. With his goal in the semifinals of the German Cup against Bayern Munich at the
Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Fußball Arena München for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterior ...
, together with his team, he qualified for the final of said competition. His great performances in the European Cup this season earned him to be included in the best eleven of the competition awarded by
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
. At a press conference on 19 April 2012, Raúl announced he would leave Schalke after his contract expired in June, and that " isfuture is not in Europe". Raúl had such an impact at Schalke that, on his departure, the club opted to retire the number 7 shirt for an indefinite period. However, in 2013, the number 7 shirt was given to Max Meyer, Schalke's new prodigy.


Al Sadd

On 12 May 2012, it was announced Raúl had signed a deal with Qatari side
Al Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in th ...
for the
2012–13 Qatar Stars League The 2012–13 Qatari League, also known as Qatari Stars League was the 40th edition of top level football championship in Qatar. The season started on 15 September 2012 and took a monthlong break from 21 December to 21 January 2013 due to the Gul ...
season. He played his first competitive match for the club on 5 August in the 2012
Sheikh Jassem Cup The Sheikh Jassim Cup ( ar, كأس الشيخ جاسم) is an annual men's super cup competition in Qatari football held between the winner of the Qatar Stars League and the Emir of Qatar Cup. History The inaugural Sheikh Jassim Cup was held i ...
, scoring a penalty in extra time in order to secure a 2–0 win against
Mesaimeer Mesaimeer ( ar, مسيمير, Musaymīr) is a district in the municipality of Al Rayyan in Qatar. Located south-west of Doha, it shares borders with the Doha Industrial Area to the east, Umm Al Seneem, Abu Hamour and Al Mamoura to the north-west ...
. The veteran also took on the role of captain after Abdulla Koni was substituted. On 13 April 2013, Raúl captained Al Sadd to the 2012–13 Qatar Stars League title. Raúl scored 9 goals in 22 appearances to help Al Sadd win their first title in five years. He was also presented with the post-season QFA-sanctioned Fair Play Award in May 2013. On 22 August 2013, Raúl played for Real Madrid in the first half of the
Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu The Santiago Bernabéu Trophy ( es, Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu) is dedicated to the memory of long-time Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabéu. It is a friendly tournament organised each year by Real Madrid at the beginning of the season, somewh ...
and scored the first goal. He then played the second half for Al Sadd as Real Madrid won 5–0. On 5 March 2014, Raúl announced he would retire from professional football at the end of the Qatari football season.


New York Cosmos

On 30 October 2014, Raúl returned to professional football and signed with the
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...
in the United States. He made his
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
(NASL) debut on 4 April 2015 in a 1–0 win against the
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...
, partially owned by his former Real Madrid strike partner Ronaldo, leaving with a hamstring injury in the second half. The following week, at the
Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays it ...
, he scored his first goal to equalise in a 1–1 draw. Raúl scored four times as the undefeated Cosmos won the
spring season Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
with five wins and five draws. On 16 October 2015, it was again announced Raúl would retire at the end of the season. The Cosmos finished with the best regular season record, winning the North American Supporters' Trophy. On 7 November, he scored the winning goal as his team came from behind to win 2–1 against the Strikers in the semi-finals, earning a place at
Soccer Bowl 2015 Soccer Bowl 2015 is the North American Soccer League's postseason championship match of the 2015 season which determined the NASL Champion. Background The New York Cosmos became the first club to earn a place in the Soccer Bowl Championshi ...
, which they won 3–2 against the Ottawa Fury eight days later. He reiterated his decision to retire after the Soccer Bowl.


International career

Raúl began his Spain career at the youth level and represented the
nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
at the 1995 FIFA U-20 World Cup, scoring three goals from five matches. He was also part of the under-21 side that reached the final of the 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, and even scored his side's temporary equaliser in the final, although he later missed his penalty in the resulting shoot-out, which was won by
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. In total, he scored 17 goals at the various youth levels for Spain. With the senior team, Raúl went on for many years to score a national record 44 goals in 102 caps for
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. However,
David Villa David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Villa is regarded by pundits as one of the best forwards of his generation, and one of the best Spanish strikers of all time. ...
later equaled Raúl's record in 2010 and surpassed it on 25 March 2011 in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier. Of his 44 international goals, Raúl scored 32 goals in competitive matches, six of which were in the finals of major tournaments and 12 from friendly matches.


1998 FIFA World Cup

Raúl earned his first senior cap against the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
on 9 October 1996, playing the full 90 minutes of a goalless draw in
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
at the Letná Stadion in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. In his third match, on 14 December against
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
at the Mestalla Stadium, he recorded his first international goal in a 2–0 qualifying win. At the
final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
in France, Raúl featured in every match as Spain were eliminated from Group D. He scored in their opening match to put them 2–1 up in an eventual 2–3 loss to
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
in
Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
.


UEFA Euro 2000

On 27 March 1999, in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier, Raúl scored four goals in Spain's 9–0 rout of
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Four days later, he scored three goals in a 6–0 away win against
San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
during the same qualifying tournament. On 5 June, against the same opponents in
Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...
, he was again on target in a 9–0 rout. Raúl played every minute of Spain's
Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...
finals campaign in Belgium and the Netherlands. He scored the first goal in their 2–1 win over
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
at the
Amsterdam Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...
. Spain were knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual champions
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
; Raúl missed a last minute penalty which would have taken the tie to extra-time.


2002 FIFA World Cup

At the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
in South Korea and Japan, Raúl opened a 3–1 win over the Slovenes in Spain's first
Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
match, and added two more in a 3–2 win over
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in
Daejeon Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...
to advance as group winners. He suffered a groin injury in the round of 16 win over the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
, and missed the remainder of the tournament, in which Spain went out to
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
in the quarter-finals.


UEFA Euro 2004

On 7 September 2002, Raúl scored in a 2–0 away win over
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
in Euro 2004 qualifying, putting him on 29 goals in 56 international games, equalling the national goalscoring record set by the recently retired
Fernando Hierro Fernando Ruiz Hierro (; born 23 March 1968) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder. He is the current sporting director of Liga MX club C.D. Guadalajara. He won five La Liga ...
. He broke the record on 12 February 2003 when he scored twice in a 3–1 friendly win over
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
at Son Moix in Palma,
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
. He started every match at the
Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
finals in Portugal, in which Spain crashed out at the
group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...
.


2006 FIFA World Cup

Raúl earned his 89th cap on 8 October 2005 in a 2–0 away win over
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in 2006 World Cup qualifying, levelling with Hierro as Spain's most-capped outfield player. However, he played less frequently across the campaign as new manager
Luis Aragonés Luis Aragonés Suárez (; 28 July 1938 – 1 February 2014) was a Spanish football player and manager. Aragonés spent the majority of his career as a player and coach at Atlético Madrid. He was a prominent player and then coach of the succe ...
preferred to partner David Villa and
Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...
. At the
final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
in Germany, he came on at half-time for Luis García in the second group match in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, with Spain trailing
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
0–1. When goalkeeper Ali Boumnijel could not retain
Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when ...
' shot in the 72nd minute, Raúl equalised from close range as Spain eventually won 3–1. On 15 August 2006, Raúl won his 100th cap for Spain, in a goalless friendly draw with
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
in
Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
. He was last chosen for the national team on 6 September, in a 3–2 defeat against
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, a match in which he hit the post late on.


Managerial career


Real Madrid U15s

On 17 August 2018, Raúl was appointed youth coach at Real Madrid, taking charge of the ''Cadete B'' (under-15) squad.


Real Madrid Castilla

On 20 June 2019, he was appointed manager of
Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in Primera Federación – Group 1 for the 2022–23 season. It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a cap ...
. He began the season with three wins, five draws, and five losses.


Style of play

A prolific goalscorer and a highly creative
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
, Raúl is regarded as one of the greatest and most consistent forwards of his generation. Wearing the number 7 jersey for most of his club and international career, he was capable of playing anywhere along the front line, although he was primarily deployed as a
centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, or as a supporting striker. He was also capable of playing as a number 10 behind the forwards, and was even used out of position as a
left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
by manager
Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...
during the 1996–97 season. Raúl was a quick, left-footed player, who was capable of scoring both in and outside the penalty area with his accurate and powerful shot, and had a penchant for scoring goals from
chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...
. He possessed excellent ball control, first touch, balance, vision and technical ability, and was effective in the air as well. Although primarily renowned for prolific goalscoring, Raúl was also a highly creative and hardworking player, capable of playing off of his teammates, creating chances and assisting goals, and was occasionally deployed as an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
in his later career. In addition to these characteristics, Raúl is remembered for his leadership and discipline – throughout his extensive career, he never received a red card, and he was rarely booked. For his technical skills, elegance, flair, goalscoring and performances, he was nicknamed "''El
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
''", or "The Ferrari," by compatriot Fernando Hierro, another emblematic Real Madrid player. He was also an accurate penalty taker and free kick taker . In 2013, former England centre-back
Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and was ...
praised Raúl for his clever movement off the ball, and his ability to exploit gaps or draw out defenders in order to create space for his teammates' runs, describing him as: "the most intelligent player e'dplayed against."


Media

Raúl has been sponsored by German sportswear company
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
during his career and has appeared in Adidas commercials. He has advertised
Adidas Predator Adidas Predator are a range of football boots developed by German sportswear manufacturers Adidas, introduced in 1994. The common feature of the Predator range is the presence of rubber patches or strips on the top of the shoe, designed to increa ...
football boots, and in 2004 he starred in an Adidas commercial featuring a number of other stars on
moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typic ...
s, including
Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...
,
Michael Ballack Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of the German national team. Ballack wore the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for, except 1. FC ...
,
Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...
and
David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at the age of eight, progressing through their youth sys ...
."Not the Final Dour Most Had Forecast"
Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 February 2015
Raúl has featured in
Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...
commercials, including an advertisement for the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan where he lined up alongside players including
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
,
Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his care ...
and
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
in taking on a team of Sumo players. Raúl features in EA Sports' ''FIFA'' video game series. His regular
goal celebration In sports, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration is normally performed by the goalscorer, and may involve their teammates, the manager or coaching staff or the supporters of the team. Whilst r ...
of kissing the ring finger – a show of affection to his wife – appears in ''
FIFA 18 ''FIFA 18'' is a football simulation video game developed and published by Electronic Arts and released worldwide on 29 September 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It is the ...
''.


Personal life

upRaúl in 2019 Throughout his career, Raúl's goal celebration consisted of kissing his wedding ring as an acknowledgment to his wife Mamen Sanz, whom he married in 1999 and with whom he has four sons and a daughter: Jorge, Hugo, twins Héctor and Mateo, and María. Jorge and Hugo are both footballers; Jorge at
Fordham Preparatory School Fordham Preparatory School (also known as Fordham Prep) is an American private, Jesuit, boys' college-preparatory school located on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University in the Bronx, New York City. From its founding in 1841 until 1970, the ...
in New York City, and Hugo in
New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...
's academy. In 2022 his daughter Maria has been signed by Real Madrid's U15 football team.


Career statistics


Club

:1 Played in
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
with ''
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
'',
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
with ''
Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
'',
Qatari Stars Cup The Qatari Stars Cup is a Qatari football competition played during the Qatar Stars League season known as Ooredoo Cup due to sponsorship reasons. The knockout competition, which involves a round-robin league structure, was first started in 2009 ...
,
Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup ( ar, كأس أمير قطر), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by 18 first and second division teams. The most successful is Al Sad ...
,
Qatar Cup The Qatar Cup is a tournament in men's football. It is played by the top 4 teams of the Qatar Stars League after each season. In 2013, the tournament was renamed Qatar Cup. Previous winners Top-Performing Clubs References External links ...
and
Sheikh Jassem Cup The Sheikh Jassim Cup ( ar, كأس الشيخ جاسم) is an annual men's super cup competition in Qatari football held between the winner of the Qatar Stars League and the Emir of Qatar Cup. History The inaugural Sheikh Jassim Cup was held i ...
with ''
Al Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in th ...
'' and in
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...
with ''
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...
''.
:2 Played in
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League with ''
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
'' and ''
Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
'', and in
AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
with ''
Al Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in th ...
''.
:3 Includes other competitive competitions, including the
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...
,
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
, Intercontinental Cup,
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
with ''
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
'', DFL-Supercup with ''
Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
'' and
NASL Championship NASL or Nasl may refer to: * Nasl, Iran (disambiguation) * ''NASL Soccer'', a 1980 early sports videogame * National Association for the Support of Long Term Care, a US national trade association * Nessus Attack Scripting Language * North American ...
with ''
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...
''.


International


Managerial statistics


Honours


Player

Real Madrid Youth * Dallas Cup: 1993, 1994 Real Madrid *
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
: 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08 *
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...
:
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
,
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
,
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
*
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2001–02 *
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
:
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
* Intercontinental Cup:
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
,
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
Schalke 04 *
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
: 2010–11 * DFL-Supercup:
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
Al Sadd *
Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotio ...
: 2012–13 *
Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup ( ar, كأس أمير قطر), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by 18 first and second division teams. The most successful is Al Sad ...
:
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
New York Cosmos *
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
: Spring Season 2015 * North American Supporters' Trophy:
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
*
Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...
:
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
Spain U21 *
UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...
runner-up:
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
Individual * La Liga's Breakthrough Player: 1994–95 *
Zarra Trophy The Zarra Trophy is a trophy awarded annually by the Spanish sports daily '' Marca'' to the Spanish domestic player with the highest goal total in La Liga. It is named after the former Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra. It was awarded for the ...
: 1995–96, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2002–03 * La Liga's Best Spanish Player: 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 (record) * European Sports Magazines Team of the Year: 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000 *
Pichichi Trophy In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
: 1998–99, 2000–01 *
IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer The IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer is a football award given annually since 1991 to the world's top international goalscorer in the calendar year. The award is given by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (I ...
: 1999 *
UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2000 final tournament, took place throughout 1998 and 1999. Forty-nine teams were divided into nine groups. All teams played against each other, within their groups, on a home-and-away basis. The winner of each group ...
top goalscorer *
UEFA Champions League top goalscorer The UEFA Champions League, known until 1992 as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or colloquially as the European Cup, is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1955. Originally a straight knockout competition open o ...
: 1999–2000, 2000–01 *
UEFA Club Forward of the Year In recognition of the best players in the UEFA Champions League each year, UEFA gives out several awards to the most outstanding performers of the European club association football, football season. The awards are presented in August each year at a ...
: 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 * UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament:
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
*
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
runner-up:
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
*
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representativ ...
Bronze award:
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
*
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
top assist provider: 2002–03 *
FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...
*
Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano The Alfredo Di Stéfano Trophy ( es, Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano) is an annual association football award presented by Spanish sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the best footballer of La Liga. The award is named after former Real Madrid player Alfre ...
: 2007–08 *
Marca Leyenda ''Marca'' Leyenda (''Marca'' legend) is an award given by the Spanish sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the best sport professionals in history. Since its inception in 1997 over 80 people have received this award. List of winners References {{Refl ...
: 2009 *
Golden Foot Award The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...
Runner-up: 2009, 2010, 2011 * Goal of the Month in Germany: August 2011, March 2012, April 2012, July 2013 * Goal of the Year in Germany: 2011, 2013 (shared with
Julian Draxler Julian Draxler (born 20 September 1993) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Primeira Liga club Benfica, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Germany national team. Draxler is known ...
) *
Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotio ...
Fair Play Award: 2013 * NASL Player of the Month: May 2015 Records * Real Madrid Record Appearance Maker: 741 games * Real Madrid Record Appearance Maker in La Liga: 550 games *European Competitions Record Appearance Maker: 150* *Third leading scorer in the world (throughout history), according to
IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
Statistics: 125 goals^^ :*Includes other European competitive competitions, including the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
,
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...
,
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
,
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
.
:^^Includes other European competitive competitions and Intercontinental Cup. *Has not received a red card in entire career.


Manager

Real Madrid U19 *
UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...
: 2019–20


Decorations

*
Government of Spain gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , da ...
: Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit 2006 * City of Madrid: Gold Medal 2009


See also

*
List of footballers with 100 or more UEFA Champions League appearances Since the rebranding of the European Champion Clubs' Cup to UEFA Champions League in 1992 at the start of the 1992–93 season, a total of 47 players have managed to make at least 100 appearances in the competition. The first player to hit the lan ...
*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps In men's association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official match appearance for their national team. In total, over 600 players have played in 100 or more international matches. The re ...
*
List of men's footballers with the most official appearances This is a list of footballers who have played at least 1,000 official football matches at all age levels: regarding junior levels, only the matches with national teams are counted, because such data for club levels cannot be found for the majo ...
*
List of Real Madrid CF records and statistics Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish professional association football club based in Madrid. The club was formed in 1902 as ''Madrid Football Club'', and played its first competitive match on 13 May 1902, when it entered the semi-final of ...
*
List of La Liga players This article outlines all individuals who have made at least 400 appearances in La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries an ...
(400+ appearances)


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Raúl González Blanco
at
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
* * * *
Raúl González
National team data at BDFutbol * * *

at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Raúl González Blanco – Goals in European Cups
at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
New York Cosmos Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raul 1977 births Living people Footballers from Madrid Spanish footballers Association football forwards Real Madrid C footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers Real Madrid CF players FC Schalke 04 players Al Sadd SC players New York Cosmos (2010) players Segunda División B players Segunda División players La Liga players Bundesliga players Qatar Stars League players North American Soccer League players Pichichi Trophy winners UEFA Champions League winning players UEFA Champions League top scorers Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain under-23 international footballers Olympic footballers of Spain Spain international footballers Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics 1998 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players FIFA Century Club FIFA 100 Spanish expatriate footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate soccer players in the United States Spanish football managers Real Madrid Castilla managers Primera Federación managers Segunda División B managers FAO Goodwill ambassadors Real Madrid CF non-playing staff