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"RalGonzlez"redirectshere.Forotheruses,see
RalGonzlez(disambiguation)
.

RalplayingforRealMadridinan
ElClsico
match
against
Barcelona
in2007
Personalinformation
Fullname

RalGonzlezBlanco

Dateofbirth

27June1977(age38)

Placeofbirth

Madrid
,Spain

Height
Playing
position

[1]
1.80m(5ft11in)

Striker

Clubinformation
Currentteam
Number

NewYorkCosmos
7

Youthcareer
19871990

SanCristbal

19901992

AtlticoMadrid

19921994

RealMadrid
Seniorcareer*
App

(Gl

Years

Team

1994

RealMadridC

(16)

1994

RealMadridB

(0)

s)

19942010

RealMadrid

550

(22
8)

20102012

Schalke04

66

(28)

20122014

AlSadd

39

(11)

NewYork
Cosmos

26

(7)

2015

Nationalteam
1994

SpainU18

(4)

1995

SpainU20

(3)

19951996

SpainU21

(8)

1996

SpainU23

(2)

102

(44)

19962006

Spain
Honours
[show]

*Seniorclubappearancesandgoalscountedforthe
domesticleagueonlyandcorrectasof17:53,14
October2015(UTC).
Appearances(goals)

Thisnameuses
Spanishnamingcustoms
:thefirstorpaternal
familyname
is
Gonzlez
andthe
secondormaternalfamilynameis
Blanco
.
RalGonzlezBlanco
(Spanishpronunciation:
[raulonalelako]
)(born27June1977),
knownas
Ral
,isaSpanishprofessional
footballer
whoplaysforAmericanclub
NewYorkCosmos
asa
striker
.Ralwasborninthe
SanCristbaldelosngeles
neighborhoodof
Madrid
wherehe
playedforthelocalyouthteambeforemovingtothe
AtlticoMadrid
youthteam.Helatermovedto
RealMadrid
's
youthacademy
andplayedatitsvariouslevels.In1994,hesignedhisfirst
professionalcontractwiththe
fourthdivisionteam

RealMadridC
andthenwasswiftlypromotedto
thefirstdivisionteam.
ConsideredoneofthemostimportantplayersinthehistoryofRealMadrid,Ralisregardedtobe
[2]
[3]
[4]
oneofthegreatestSpanishplayersofalltime.
Hespent16yearsofhiscareerplayingfor

RealMadridandistheclub'ssecondalltimetopgoalscorerwith
323goals.
[5]

Ralisalsothemost
cappedplayerinthehistoryoftheclubwith
741appearances
,aheadof
Sanchs
.With
losBlancos
,
hewonsix
LaLiga
titles,three
UEFAChampionsLeague
titles,scoringintwofinals,four
Supercopa
deEspaa
titles,one
UEFASuperCup
andtwo
IntercontinentalCup
.Heisthe
thirdhighest
goalscorer
inChampionsLeaguehistory,behind
LionelMessi
and
CristianoRonaldo
,andthe
second
mostcappedplayer
,behind
RyanGiggs
.In2003,hewasappointed
captain
oftheteamand
retainedthatpositionuntilhisdeparturefromtheclubin2010.
InLaLigacompetitions,Ralisthefifthhighestgoalscorerinthehistoryofthetournamentwith
228
goals
,behindLionelMessi,
TelmoZarra
andfellowRealMadridlegend's
HugoSnchez
and
CristianoRonaldo.HeisalsothehighestSpanishscorerinEuropeanleagues,with256goals,
scoring228goalsinLaLigaand28goalsinthe
Bundesliga
.Moreover,heisthesecondmost
cappedplayerinthehistoryoftheSpanishcompetition,with550gamesplayed,justbehind
Andoni
Zubizarreta
(622games).LeavingRealMadridin2010andsigningforSchalke04,hescoredthe

[6]
400thgoalofhiscareerinFebruary2012.
Hesignedwiththe
Qatari
team
AlSadd
in2012.He
[7]
wonthe
QatarStarsLeague
inhisfirstseasonandhereached1,000gamesplayedinhiscareer.