Raúl González Blanco, usually referred to simply as Raúl, (born June 27, 1977) is a Spanish football forward. He has been playing for Real Madrid at senior level since 1994, where he is the team captain. He has played more than 100 games for the Spanish national team, and is its all-time leading goal scorer with 44 goals. He represented Spain in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and Euro 2004 tournaments.

Raúl is also currently 10th highest goalscorer in the history of Spain’s top flight, with 180 goals in 400 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club’s third highest goalscorer of all time. This might improve as Raúl is still playing for the club.

When playing, he wears jersey number 7 for both club and country.

Raúl grew up in a modest neighbourhood of Madrid, in the suburb Marconi de San Cristóbal de los Ángeles. His father, don Pedro, was a fan of Atlético Madrid, the club where he started playing after a short period in San Cristóbal’s team. Atlético Madrid coach didn’t notice anything special about him because he was very thin and weak. Raul later turned to Real Madrid’s C team and quickly made it to the first team in 1994/1995 season.

Raúl possesses a distinctive celebration, with each goal acclaimed by a kiss of his wedding ring, an acknowledgement to his wife Mamen Sanz. They have four sons: Jorge (February 25, 2000), who is named after Jorge Valdano, Hugo (November 20, 2002) and twins Héctor and Mateo (November 17, 2005). He likes reading, especially the books of Arturo Pérez Reverte, and listening to all sorts of Spanish music. He also enjoys hunting and watching bullfighting.

Fernando Morientes is a very close friend of Raul’s. The two formed a very deadly striker partnership for Real Madrid and the Spanish national squad between 1998 and 2002, until Morientes was replaced by Ronaldo in the Real Madrid starting eleven. Morientes and Raul are still best friends, and Raul was often spotted at Anfield Road in the 2005/2006 English Premiership season while he was sidelined with an injury, watching Morientes play for Liverpool. Morientes and Raul have also gone on vacations together, with their families.

Raúl was born in the Madrid suburb of San Cristobal de Los Ángeles. After winning his spurs as a member of provincial amateur team San Cristobal de Los Angeles, his father signed him up for the Atlético Madrid youth team at the age of 13. Raúl rose through the ranks, winning the national title with the Under-15 youth team, and seemed destined to join the professional side when Atletico President Jesús Gil dissolved the club’s entire youth scheme in an effort to save money.

Deprived of a team to play for, Raul turned to local rivals Real Madrid, where success was quickly forthcoming. He began the 1994-95 season in Real’s “C” team, and scored 13 goals in the first seven games. In October 1994, head coach Jorge Valdano picked the gifted teenager in his first team. At just 17 years and four months, Raul became the youngest player ever to wear a Real Madrid shirt. In doing so, he nudged aside 1991 Pichichi Trophy winner Emilio Butragueño, and was soon well on the way to becoming Spain’s new sensation. He scored nine times in his first season from 28 appearances, including one in his second game against Atletico, and won the Spanish La Liga championship. Raúl made his national team debut against the Czech Republic in October 1996. Raúl’s performances for Spain have since mirrored the nation’s fortunes, Spain being dubbed the “greatest underachievers” in international football.

Raúl was a key player in Real Madrid’s six big titles from 1998 to 2003. With Real, he won three European UEFA Champions League trophies in 1998, 2000 and 2002, scoring the clinching goal in the 2000 Champions League final. On the domestic scene, he won three Spnaish La Liga championships in 1997, 2001 and 2003. After Fernando Hierro retired from the Spanish national team in 2002, Raúl became the captain for Real Madrid and Spain.

Ever since 2003, he has been under heavy criticism by the media and part of the supporters because of his poor performances in the last two years, in which Real Madrid struggled to win a title in Spain and in the European competitions, with no success in either of them. These struggles have seen Raúl relegated at times to the substitutes bench by both club and country, leaving questions as to how much he might have in the tank.

On 28 September 2005 against Greek power Olympiakos, his 97th UEFA Champions League match, he became the first player to score 50 goals in the history of the tournament, passing Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano. When he led out the Spanish team against San Marino in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 12 October 2005, he surpassed his predecessor as Spain captain, Fernando Hierro, as the most-capped outfield player (i.e., not a goalkeeper) in Spanish history.

On June 19, with a goal against Tunisia, Raúl became the 18th player to score in 3 different editions of the FIFA World Cup. He has scored in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Playing style
Raúl is a striker who is able to link attack and midfield effectively.

At 1.80m in height and just over 68 kg, Raúl is very mobile and light on his feet, and likes to switch positions or go out wide. He can put his team-mates through into great positions, and create chances for himself even against the toughest markers. Originally an out-and-out striker, thanks to his versatility he has developed link-up play, allowing him to play in the hole behind the front men.