Raúl breaks Filippo Inzaghi’s European goalscoring record
Former Real Madrid striker nets his 71st European goal in Schalke's 1-1 draw with Valencia
Spanish striker Raúl has broken the record for the most goals in European competition history after netting Schalke’s equaliser in Tuesday nights’s 1-1 draw with Valencia.
The former Real Madrid captain’s strike in the Champions League last-16 tie took his tally to 71, surpassing the benchmark set by AC Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi earlier this season.
Valencia had taken an early lead through Roberto Soldado but Raúl drew the Bundesliga outfit level with a trademark finish in the 64th minute.
“It was no fluke that’s a genuine goalscorer we are seeing here,” said Schalke coach Felix Magath.
“His marker has to come the long way round and Raúl knows it – he knows exactly where he’s going to put it. The special thing about him is that he works so much for the team as well.”
Schalke team-mate Christoph Metzelder added: “He’s created history – in his first match back in Spain he scores. I’m very happy for him.”
Raúl began his professional as a 17-year-old graduate of the Real Madrid youth system in 1994 and became the youngest player to play for the senior side.
The former Spain international scored 323 times in 741 appearances for Los Blancos and became the first player to reach 50 Champions League goals in 2005 when he netted in Real’s 2-1 group-stage victory over Olympiakos.
Raúl swapped the Bernabeu for the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen last summer, where he has scored 13 in 31 appearances for the Bundesliga club.
