Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez is set to leave the club according to AS, which cited anonymous sources.
The Spaniard is one of the most famous products of Los Blancos’ La Fabrica academy after switching from bitter rivals Atletico Madrid’s equivalent as a teenager.
Graduating in 1994, he won three Champions League titles and double that amount of La Liga crowns alongside a string of other trophies ahead of fleeing to Schalke 04 after 16 years with the first team.
According to local media, that Spain to Germany switch is one that Raul could make again in the coming months, as he is on the verge of leaving the club for a second time.
The 46-year-old has led Madrid’s reserve outfit known as the Castilla for five seasons, but he now reportedly believes that his time in youth football is over after having done respectable work in his first coaching job.
Because of this, Raul has instructed his agent Gines Carvajal to listen to offers amid rumors – which have been denied by the Andalusians – that Sevilla intends to make him their manager.
What looks more likely is that Raul begins his senior management career in the Bundesliga where “several” teams have knocked on the door of the legendary former number 7.
In making this journey, Raul would echo the trajectory of in-demand Xabi Alonso, who started cutting his teeth with the reserve outfit of his first club, Real Sociedad B, before taking the plunge at Bayer Leverkusen.
That move proved a roaring success, with Alonso taking his team through a currently unbeaten campaign where Bayer have won their first ever Bundesliga title and are through to the final of the German Cup and the Europa League semifinals.
Alonso has been linked to succeeding Carlo Ancelotti at the Bernabeu and has already decided it will be his next destination according to OK Diario.
If he does a good job in elite management, Raul will probably also harbor hopes of one day becoming the first team manager in the Spanish capital akin to former teammates such as Zinedine Zidane now expected to take the soon-vacant Bayern Munich head coach role.