New York Cosmos striker Raul says he made the move to North American Soccer League because he had always wanted to live in America and that football in the U.S. is growing quickly.
Raul, 38, is Real Madrid's all-time top scorer with 323 goals after a glittering career which saw him pick up six La Liga titles and three Champions League trophies during his time at the Bernabeu.
The former Spain international left Madrid to head to German side Schalke and then joined Al Sadd in Qatar for a two-year spell in 2012, but then chose to move to America and sign for the Cosmos in October 2014.
"I've always wanted to live in America with my family and learn more about its culture," he said in the October 2015 edition of FourFourTwo magazine. "I was close to joining Seattle Sounders when I left Schalke in 2012, but we decided to go to Qatar first.
"When we came back from the Middle East, coach Giovanni Savarese approached and told me a lot about Cosmos' tradition, and explained their projects. I've learned about the history of this club, with Pele and [Franz] Beckenbauer having worn the Cosmos jersey -- obviously I've heard some of it before -- and New York is a great place to live, so we gave it a go."
Raul has been impressed how far football has spread in America and he is delighted to be a part of helping it to grow.
"People are very passionate about the game -- it's growing fast," he added. "Ten years ago you saw kids into basketball or American football, mainly; now, I walk through parks in New York and a lot of them are playing soccer.
"MLS is developing, new stadiums are being built, and I love being part of the transition process."
Having spent most of his career at one of the best clubs in the world, the former Real Madrid striker admits it has been a challenge to adapt to a different style of play in NASL.
"It's certainly different to Real Madrid... much more physical," he added. "Obviously players need to improve their technical skills. Playing on turf sometimes, not grass, makes it a little bit more difficult.
"I can't complain, though: the pace is slower, which is good at my age. You can definitely see an improvement. Young players are coming in, hungry and determined, as well as more and more fans. It's exciting."
A lot of Raul's former teammates have taken up coaching after retirement and the 38-year-old has no plans to give up football, even if he hasn't quite made up his mind what his next career move will be.
"I'm not going to lie: not playing football will be very difficult for me," he said. "People ask me if I want to be a coach, and I don't know, but I've started to think about it. Maybe that's the best option? I'm not sure.
"I definitely want to be involved in football in some capacity. I enjoy working with kids, so maybe that'll be the next step. I want to win a trophy on American soil first. I hope Cosmos will win the NASL title; then I can sit back in my chair and think about the next chapter of my life."
