The 33-year-old, a huge favourite among Real fans and a club captain, had tears in his eyes when he announced his departure at a packed news conference at Real's Bernabeu stadium.
He acknowledged keen interest from Bundesliga club Schalke 04, who have offered him a two-year deal according to local media, but also said a move to England was a possibility, with Tottenham and Newcastle both said to be keen on securing the player's signature in recent days.
"I feel like a player and I want to continue feeling like a player for the time I can and that my body allows," he said.
"It's a chance to have an experience abroad. Schalke have shown a lot of interest but other teams too. My future lies in England or Germany."
Raul joined Real in 1992 and has since helped them to win six Spanish league titles and three Champions League titles and scored 323 times in 741 appearances in all competitions and in October equaled German Gerd Muller's record of 66 goals in European competitions when he scored against AC Milan in the Champions League.
However Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has today played down his side's chances of sealing a deal for the Spaniard to move to White Hart Lane: "Raul is a great player at Real Madrid, but I wouldn’t think he would be a player we would bring to Tottenham. Financially, I don’t think it would be possible to do a deal like that.”
