Raul held talks with Spurs boss Ramos
Real Madrid forward Raul has revealed he held talks with future Bernabeu boss Juande Ramos while the Spaniard was still in charge at Tottenham Hotspur.
The 31-year-old netted his 309th Real goal at the weekend against Sporting Gijon, breaking Alfredo Di Stefano's all-time record.
And despite being continually linked with a move to the Premier League, he has always spurned the opportunity to leave the 31-time La Liga champions.
However, Raul told Digital Plus that he and his agent held talks with Ramos while he was still managing the north London club, and responded to suggestions he played a key role in bringing the sacked Spurs coach to Madrid, where he has led Real to eight successive wins.
"Four months ago, Juande and I had a meal with Gines Carvajal, who is our agent and a friend of mine," he said.
"They called me because I like English football and I wanted Juande to tell me about his experience of Tottenham and of the Premier League. He is a football man and speaking with him is a pleasure.
"A chain of events meant that he was sacked and then Madrid were interested in him. The fact that we share the same agent led to unfortunate interpretations. Juande is a winning coach and he has proved that he is good enough to manage Real Madrid."
Ramos will return to English shores next month as his Real Madrid side visit Liverpool in the second leg of the Champions League last 16.
And Raul is relishing the opportunity to play in front of the Kop at Anfield.
“Anfield is pure legend and you always want to play there, where the atmosphere is terrific," he said.
“We keep this game in our mind, but first thing first we have to remain focused on winning in the Primera Liga in order to keep our options open and to keep the team happy.”
SPURS FANS! Check FourFourTwo.com’s ever-expandinginterviews archivefor more stuff to read:
Web Exclusives Les Ferdinand, Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker, Glenn Hoddle, Frederic Kanoute
One on One Paul Gascoigne, Les Ferdinand, Ossie Ardiles
Boy's A Bit Special Chris Gunter, John Bostock
Ask A Silly Question Garth Crooks
Perfect XI Ossie Ardiles
My Secret Vice Neil Ruddock
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Plus! Martin Peters on Weekend Wonders and Spurs on Talentspotter
Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.