11 of the best quotes on Raúl: ‘He walks on the turf and astounds’

Quick Reads

Raúl won six league titles, four Spanish Cups and three Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and will go down as one of the greatest footballers to ever play for the club.

The striker is Real’s all-time record appearance holder, and in his 16-year career in the Spanish capital he scored 323 goals in 741 games.

He played with some of the best players in the world, and under some of the best coaches in the world. Obviously, they were all full of praise for the great man…

Michel Salgado

“Raul is the soul of Real Madrid.”

Alfredo Di Stefano

“Raul does something that few players dare to try: he walks into a stadium with 100,000 people watching him and he plays as if he was playing in his neighbourhood.”

Zinedine Zidane

“He is a role model for anyone who sets foot on the field of play.”

READ: A tribute to Raúl, a man who made top-level games look like exhibitions

Angel Cappa

“Raúl was a surprise to us, but not to himself. Raúl carries the ball badly, he dribbles badly, he can’t head the ball, he strikes it badly… and then the game starts. When the game starts, he carries the ball well, he dribbles phenomenally well, he can head it, he scores a thousand different types of goal.

“He is suddenly perfect. Raúl is a born competitor. He’s unique.”

Luis Figo

“I think he is the greatest player to have ever played the game. He walks on the turf and astounds. It is utterly amazing.”

Sir Alex Ferguson

“I hope he doesn’t like travelling, Failing that we will stop him entering the country. Real buy these big players like Figo, Zidane and Ronaldo but I think the best player in the world is Raúl.”

Thierry Henry

“When he plays, in his mind there is only the goal; it’s the football essence. Every time they do something, you stand up over your seat.”

Raul

“My heart will always be with Madrid. Real Madrid is my life and my home.”

Jorge Valdano

“If you wrote a list of Raúl’s qualities, it would be a list of the values of Real Madrid. He is the Di Stéfano of our time. Quantity above quality, absolute commitment and endeavour above all else. Utter professionalism. Every. Single. Day. Of. His. Life.”

Felix Magath

“We have signed an exceptional footballer and world-class goalscorer.”

Florentino Perez

“For every Real Madrid fan, Raúl was, is, and always will be, an example of honesty, work, the ability to resist defeat and someone that is passionate about football.

“His 16 titles won in our shirt demonstrate his greatness, his sense of loyalty and his commitment to Real Madrid.”

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