I’ll return to Real Madrid one day – Raul

Retiring New York Cosmos forward Raul says he will return to the club one day but not just yet.

The 38-year-old will hang up his boots at the end of the MLS season after more than 20 years as a professional footballer. Amid return of a possible return to the Santiago Bernabeu in a coaching capacity, the ex-Spain international told a news conference that he wants to spend time with his family first before making a decision on where his future lies.

He admitted to reporters though that he is in regular contact with the Real Madrid hierarchy a wants to return. Raul spent 16 years at the club, scoring 323 goals – a record that was only recently surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Real Madrid is my home and some day the moment will come to return. But it will not be in the near future, although there is continuous contact,” he said.

And he continued: “I do not feel a coach, nor am I thinking now about being one in the next few years. At the moment I want to be a father and a person.

“To be a coach you need to go through a training process I have not yet started, but I would like to coach a winning team. [For now] I will stay living in New York with my family, open to a new life, open to many possibilities.”