Raul Gonzalez

On 27th June 1977 Raul Gonzalez Blanco was born in a suburb of Madrid. His father signed him to the Athletico Madrid youth team at the age of 13. Raul was doing well and wanted to join the professional side but the club president dropped the entire youth team in a desperate bid to save money. Still only 17 and with no club to play for he turn to local rivals Real Madrid, he made an instant impact playing for Real’s C team where he scored 13 ...
...club for a few months Raul was picked for Real Madrid’s first team, at just 17 years and 4 months he became the youngest player ever to wear a Real Madrid shirt. In his first season he hit the back of the net nine times in 28 appearances and won a Spanish league championship medal. He has played in three UFEA Champions League finals, winning the competition twice. The second time being earlier this year, Raul scored the first goal of the game ... more

On 27th June 1977 Raul Gonzalez Blanco was born in a suburb of Madrid. His father signed him to the Athletico Madrid youth team at the age of 13. Raul was doing well and wanted to join the professional side but the club president dropped the entire youth team in a desperate bid to save money. Still only 17 and with no club to play for he turn to local rivals Real Madrid, he made an instant impact playing for Real’s C team where he scored 13 goals in just seven games.

In October 1994, after only being with the club for a few months Raul was picked for Real Madrid’s first team, at just 17 years and 4 months he became the youngest player ever to wear a Real Madrid shirt. In his first season he hit the back of the net nine times in 28 appearances and won a Spanish league championship medal. He has played in three UFEA Champions League finals, winning the competition twice. The second time being earlier this year, Raul scored the first goal of the game and Madrid went on to win 2-1.

Raul got his first full international cap in October 1996. He played well in the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup France 98, but didn’t do so well in the finals. He played only once for the complete 90 minutes, scoring just one goal, as Spain went out in the first round.

After a major shake-up to the national team, Raul became a main part of the new, youthful side. He finished top scorer with 11 goals, in the Euro 2000 qualifiers.

Raul is married to Mamen Sanz who gave birth to their first child, a little boy, in the spring of 2000. His salary is around £300,000 a month, making him one of the best-paid players in the world. His value to the club can be judged by his contract, which contains a £117 million buy-out clause intended to ensure he plays for Real Madrid for the remainder of his career.

Raul has a brilliant reading of the game and he is one of the best finishers in the world, Spain are widely tipped to go far in this years FIFA World Cup, for them to do so Raul will have to be at the top of his game and with odds of 12-1 he could be a good bet to finish as the top goal scorer of the finals.

Thanks For Reading Toady
 

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