Why did Raul choose Schalke?

A guest post by the Football Fairground's Terry Duffelen.

Assuming there are no last minute hitches, the former Real Madrid striker Raul will be a Schalke 04 player on Monday.

The move remains a curious one perhaps for those living in the UK, tinted by the pro-Premier League, Sky Sports driven perspective of the European club game. At 33, the player who became a national institution still has a great deal to offer and you would have thought that a move to England and the glamour of the BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD would have been a more attractive option than, well Gelsenkirchen.

Nevertheless, the stories linking Spain's top scorer with the Ruhr giant began early in the Summer and despite nibbles from elsewhere, Schalke coach Felix Magath has remained confident that Raul will be joining him 'ere long.

Perhaps the move reflects the emergence of the Bundesliga as an attractive proposition for top professionals who, while perhaps past their best, still have plenty to offer any top European League. The German first division's stock has risen on the back of some impressive performances in the Champions League and Europa League from Bayern Munich and Hamburg respectively. Also, the League's governance laws promote relatively sound management and have produced a positive balance sheet. In a recession, the mostly financially stable clubs of the Bundesliga may be a sensible choice.

Of course Schalke are, at present, struggling with debts and will not have as much money to pay Raul as some English clubs. Nevertheless, it is possible that the Madrid legend was put off by the UK's new tax bands on the super rich. He may have struggled to find a club willing to pay his tax bill.

Then there are the football reasons which must be compelling. Raul will be working with head coach Felix Magath, an original Svengali who is ruthless, ambitious and ruthlessly ambitious. Having left Wolfsburg with their first ever Bundesliga title, he pitched up at a club weighed down by their own expectation and frustration. With no money in the bank he took an assortment of embittered senior professionals and talented youngsters and produce a team that pushed FC Bayern to the penultimate game of the season for the Championship and earned them a place in the Champions League as a result. If Raul still has the desire for a fight, he'll get one in the Bundesliga with Schalke and the 60,000-odd fans who turn up at the Veltins Arena will adore him for it.

Also, the Bundesliga is a league that still loves the classic goal scorer and Raul may have been encouraged by his ex-team mate Ruud van Nistelrooy's successful start at Hamburg when he moved there in the winter. So, if he applies himself and adapts to life in his new environment, Raul has the makings of a becoming Bundesliga legend in the last few years of his glorious career