As reported by Marca, Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez Blanco was officially presented as a Schalke 04 player today and will wear his traditional number seven at the German club. Real Madrid's all-time leading scorer, the 33-year-old was presented in the Veltins Arena this afternoon having successfully passed an obligatory medical exam.
According to reports, Chinese midfielder Hao Junmin ceded his No. 7 shirt to the former Madrid captain, declaring that it would be a pleasure to give the living legend his choice of shirt number. Junmin will now reportedly play in the No. 8 shirt.
The Madrid icon showed his enthusiasm for his new club and, in his usually gracious fashion, thanked his new club and its fans. "I want to thank the fans. For me this is a very special day, as I'm leaving after 16 years at my club. Now I have the desire to take on a new challenge. I come to a very competitive club that is playing in the Champions League and that is fighting for the Bundesliga.
"Schalke and their coach have shown their confidence in me and from the beginning showed great interest in making this a reality. This is an important challenge. I hope that the fans enjoy the team as well as me, and that we accomplish our goals that we have set for ourselves at the beginning of the season."
Always with a smile on his face, Raul posed with two miners and a block of coal, as Schalke is known as 'the miners' club', situated near the mining area of Ruhrgebiet. Raul went on to insist that he chose Schalke because of the interest the club showed in him along with "what I want in terms of level of competition".
El Siete revealed that he is "excited to play and work very hard. I hope that these two years are a marvelous experience. I am sure that everything is going to go very well. I want to score goals, but the most important thing is the team, not the personal objectives. It has been that way for me for the past 16 years."
Finally, Raul did not give much credence to a hypothetical match-up between Schalke and Real Madrid in the Champions League. While citing that "there is no clause in my contract that impedes me from playing against Madrid", the veteran striker recognized that such a situation would be "a very special one for me".
At the German club, Raul reunites with former Madrid center-back Christoph Metzelder, who joined Schalke earlier this summer on a free transfer. The top scorer in the Champions League, Raul could debut with his new team as early as this Saturday in a friendly match against Hamburg.
Raul's presentation was scheduled to take place behind closed doors, but in the end Schalke fans were permitted to cheer the living legend, whose arrival has stolen headlines in Germany.
