Berlin: Longtime Real Madrid forward Raul Gonzalez completed his move to Bundesliga club Schalke Wednesday, signing a two-year contract.
Raul is joining Schalke on a free transfer after 15 seasons with Madrid. Schalke said the 33-year-old was undergoing a medical.
Coach Felix Magath, who secured Raul's agreement on Tuesday evening, said it was "great news for Schalke".
"I'm glad that we succeeded in enthusing such an exceptional footballer and world-class goalscorer about a move to the Bundesliga and to Schalke," Magath said. "His signing is a decisive step in our efforts to strengthen and restructure the squad."
Schalke had a gap to fill in its attack after Kevin Kuranyi left for Dynamo Moscow at the end of last season. Kuranyi's 18 goals helped the club to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga behind Bayern Munich, qualifying it for Champions League play.
Second signing
Raul is Schalke's second signing from Real Madrid in the off-season, joining former Germany defender Christoph Metzelder who spent three injury-plagued seasons at Madrid and saw little playing time.
Raul announced his departure from Real Madrid on Monday.
"I want to experience another type of football, a different culture — that's an important challenge in life," he said at the time. "German or English football — those are the only two places I would go ... my motivation is to keep playing football."
Raul found himself mostly relegated to the bench at Madrid following a spending spree by the club last summer. He made his Madrid debut as a 17-year-old in 1994 and stayed with the club since then — a span that includes three Champions League triumphs, six Spanish league titles and two Intercontinental Cups.
