Raúl is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, wearing the number 𝟕 jersey for most of his career, playing primarily as a central striker. He can also play as the number 𝟏𝟎 and is a powerful left-footed player who is capable of scoring goals from long range. He also possesses excellent ball control, vision and excellent aerial ability. He made over 𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 appearances during his career, and is currently the coach of Real Madrid's 𝐁 team.

Raúl began his youth career at his local club San Cristóbal, before signing for the Atlético Madrid youth team in 𝟏𝟗𝟎. During his time at Atlético, he joined Real Madrid's 𝐁 team after former president Jesus Gea decided to close the youth academy to save money. He played for Madrid's youth teams 𝐀, 𝐁, 𝐂, winning the Dallas Cup in 𝟏𝟗𝟑 and 𝟏𝟗𝟒, and gradually made his way to the senior team.

He played for Real Madrid for 𝟏𝟔 years, making 𝟕𝟒𝟏 appearances for the club, the most of any player. With Madrid, he won 𝟔 La Liga titles, 𝟑 Champions League titles, 𝟑 Spanish Super Cups, 𝟑 UEFA Super Cups, and 𝟑 Intercontinental Cups. He finished second in the Ballon d'Or in 𝟑𝟎𝟎𝟏 and became Madrid's captain 𝟑 years later. Raúl scored 𝟑𝟐𝟑 goals for Madrid before leaving the club in 𝟑𝟎𝟏𝟎 to join Bundesliga club Schalke 04. He spent 2 seasons in Germany, winning the German Cup and the German Super Cup, before moving to Qatari club Al Sadd. He also spent 2 seasons in Qatar before moving to his final club, the American club New York Cosmos.

He played 102 matches for Spain, scoring 44 goals, and is considered one of the country's greatest players. He played in 3 FIFA World Cups and 2 Euros for Spain, and was named in the 2010 UEFA Euro Team of the Year. He became captain of the national team in 2012 and retired from international football in 2016.

One of the most successful players in the history of the Champions League, Raúl won the UEFA Forward of the Year award for three consecutive years (1999-2000, 2000-2001 and 2001-2002) and was the top scorer in 1999-2000 and 2001-2002. He was also named the world's top scorer by the 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 & 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 in 1999.

Other awards include 2 La Liga top scorers, 5 Ballon d'Ors and the 1998 International Cup best player awards. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the best players in the world and was included in UEFA's 50 Best European Players of the 1950–2004 period. He was also included in the European Sports Media's European Team of the Year in 1997, 1999 and 2000.

Raul is one of the few players to have never been out of the Champions League, despite playing over 1,000 games for the Reds. He was also known for his leadership and hard work.