Jamie Redknapp reveals that Tottenham Hotspur also spurned a chance to sign Raul Gonzalez
The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Jamie Redknapp, has revealed that his former employers wasted a chance to sign Raul http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gonzalez-c15099 before the start of the 2010/11 season.
Raul found first team opportunities hard to come by at Real Madrid and decided to leave the Spanish giants after spending more than 15 years with the club. German side, Schalke 04, pounced on the Spanish striker and signed him on a free transfer.
Redknapp admitted that his father, Harry Redknapp, who is the manager of the Spurs, was put off by the striker’s huge wage demands and the deal could not go through. It is not only the Lilywhites, who came close to signing the player but Manchester United
manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has also recently admitted that he came extremely close to signing the Real Madrid legend.
The all-time highest goal-scorer in the UEFA Champions league, has guided the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Royal-95-c40387 Blues to their first ever semi-final of Europe’s prestigious competition. Schalke will take on the Red Devils in the first of the two-legged semi-final on Tuesday, 26 April,
2011.
Redknapp argues that a deal for a player of Raul’s calibre was never going to be a risk because despite being a 33-year-old, the teams would have greatly benefitted from the Spaniard’s experience especially in the Champions League.
Talking to the reporters Redknapp said, “http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Raul-c30652 confirmed he came close to joining Manchester United in Sportsmail’s brilliant interview with him, but they weren’t the only ones who were approached. Tottenham were among the other clubs who were contacted when
he was released by Real Madrid. I suspect, like Harry Redknapp, Sir Alex Ferguson thought he could not have the same impact away from his ‘home’ at Madrid with the demands of the English league. And at 33, even on a free, the wages would have been excessive.”
added the former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 star
The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 international added that Raul’s game is ideally suited to the English game and would have made a huge impact in the Barclays Premier League.
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