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United could have signed prolific Spaniard | Sir Alex Ferguson has always been an admirer of the scoring abilities of former Real Madrid forward Raul and according to German center-half Christoph Metzelder, the United boss approached the Spanish striker to join the Red Devils.
Metzelder, who is now teammates with Raul at United’s Champions League semifinal opponents Schalke 04, told Daily Mail that United became interested in signing the player as soon as he became available last summer.
“They tried to sign him this season. He talked about it to me. I don’t know if he thought about it,” the 30-year old defender said about Raul, who was also his former teammate at Santiago Bernabeu.
In the end, however, Metzelder’s own pitch to sell Raul on the unique challenges in the German Bundesliga were enough to convince the Spaniard that Schalke was the right club for him.
“A player like him has offers – from clubs in the United States, England but also Schalke. I tried to convince him. He got to know Germany in the 2006 World Cup and knows the atmosphere, the stadiums, the infrastructure,” Metzelder explained.
“I said to him, ‘You have to experience it’. He’s a big player and his influence is great,” he concluded.
In less than two weeks, United will travel to the Veltins Arena to face Schalke, who are not only inspired by Raul’s stunning rediscovery of his peak form, but also by the availability of a deep, organized squad that many have underestimated throughout the season.
Inter paid the price in the quarterfinals and United must be at their very best to avoid a similar fate.
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“We’ll see what Utd do them at the Veltins arena”
We’ll see how m any they put past overrated overhyped Utd. This is not the PL with bent refs assisting them.
Raul is no threat to man utd… We will see what united will do them at the velkins arena..
Rubbish. Little bit out of the age range for Fergies Tarnsfer policy I would suggest. Cant see anyone who isnt German choosing Schalke over Man Utd anyway