Former Real Madrid great Raul Gonzales has for the first time spoken out about his decision to join Bundesliga outfit Schalke. The 33 year old former captain and all time club top scorer was quoted as saying he was pleased to join Schalke.
Speaking to the press earlier today, Raul revealed that although he had the choice of finishing his career at Real, he and his family opted for a new adventure.
“I made a very good decision in joining this club to finish my career,” he told Bild. “I could have stayed at Real, I had the support of Jose Mourinho. I spent 16 years there – almost an entire career. But my family and me, we wanted to discover something new and if we did not do it this year, we could never have done it.”
Few strikers can lay claim to a glittering resume like Raul’s. Raul is yet to play competitively for Schalke however, with Schalke’s opening Bundesliga fixture against Hamburg in a weeks time, the veteran is expected to get his first taste of German football.
Speaking about Schalke’s prospects this season, this is what Raul had to say.
“We can dream of winning the league title,” he noted. “With the coach we have [Felix Magath], everything is possible. He has been a champion with Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg.
“The first thing I was told on arriving is that we absolutely have to beat Dortmund, but if we could not beat them but become champions, everybody would be very happy!”
Whether Raul will experience the same level of success with Schalke as he did with Real Madrid is something that only time will tell, however, as for now, the Spanish international seems to have found a home away from home.
Photo credit: from LizNN7