Raúl González Blanco , usually referred to simply as Raúl (born June 27, 1977 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanishfootballforward. He has been playing for Real Madrid at senior level since 1994. He currently is the captain of both Real and the Spanish national team, being its all-time leading scorer. In both he wears jersey number 7.

Since making his debut against the Czech Republic in October1996, Raúl's performances for Spain have very much mirrored the nation's fortunes. Raúl was a key player in Real Madrid's last six big titles, three European Champions Leagues ( 1998, 2000 and 2002) and three National Championships ( 1999, 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, 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 European Champions Leagues, with no success in either of them. Raúl is a supremely intelligent striker who is able to link attack and midfield effectively. Although not as talented as other stars in his team, like Ronaldo or Zinedine Zidane, he usually outperforms them by his strong character and redoubled efforts in the pitch, and by his unbreakable resolve to win every game.

For his country, Raúl scored 42 goals in 92 international matches (as of November 2005). He played in the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, and Euro 2004. On 28 September2005 against Greek power Olympiakos, he became the first player to score 50 goals in UEFA Champions League play (in his 97th match). Raúl is also currently 11th highest goalscorer in the history of Spain's top flight, with 175 goals in 382 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club's third highest goalscorer of all time. This will surely improve as Raúl is still playing for the club.

When he led out the Spanish team against San Marino in a World Cup qualifier on 12 October2005, he surpassed his predecessor as Spain captain, Fernando Hierro, as the most-capped outfield player (i.e., not a goalkeeper) in Spanish history.

Raúl possesses one of the distinctive celebrations in the modern game, with each goal acclaimed by a kiss of his wedding ring, an acknowledgement to his wife Mamen Sanz. They have four sons: Jorge (*2000), Hugo (*2002) and twins Hector & Mateo (*2005).