New Delhi: Real Madrid captain Raul has been playing with the Spanish giants for 14 years, but he admits to being fascinated by Italian players and that he fantasised about a Rossoneri future when he was a kid.
The Merengues stalwart was given his debut in a Real shirt in October 1994 and has won an endless number of prestigious trophies with the Blancos, but he confesses to having two Italian players as his role models: Milan captain Paolo Maldini and ex-Italy legend Roberto Baggio.
"I grew up with Roberto and now I am getting old with Paolo," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I loved watching Baggio play football, and when I finally managed to meet him, I realised what a great person he truly is. As for Paolo, I was still a kid when he was already lifting European cups, I am 31 now and he is still there. He is a true professional and a point of reference for all the footballers."
"There are few like him: Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti, Paul Scholes or Ryan Giggs, who have spent their whole careers in big and demanding clubs, where you always need to give your all."
Raul has always played for the Blancos and will end his career in Madrid, but he admits that several clubs tried to lure him away over the years.
"Yes, they did approach me, but my answer was always the same," noted the striker, "and, after all, everybody knew I was keen to stay put.
"However, I did have some fantasies when I was little and dreamt about my footballing future: I often thought about Milan, and I would have loved to play with legends such as Marco Van Basten, Carlo Ancelotti, Ruud Gullit and Roberto Donadoni. Just think about a Raul-Van Basten partnership..."
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