I have enormous admiration for Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs & Paul Scholes – Schalke forward Raul

Raul Gonzalez, Schalke (Getty Images)

Related Links

Teams

Players

Schalke attacker Raul has voiced his admiration for Manchester United veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

The German side host Manchester United on Tuesday evening in the first leg of the semi-final of the Champions League, and Raul told The Daily Mail his opinion of the two Old Trafford greats.

He said: “Giggs and Scholes are players for whom I have an enormous admiration. What we have in common is that we love this profession. Football is our lives. They are great professionals who look after themselves and who train properly.

“For Giggs to still be playing at this level at 37 years of age is incredible. I would love to swap shirts with Giggs after the game. It would be a great honour to have that shirt.”

The former Spain international explained that his move to Schalke last summer has allowed him to solely focus on playing football again.

“I am more relaxed now,” he said. “At Real Madrid, I had a lot more responsibilities. Now I don’t have to worry about anything else, I can concentrate on getting on with my team-mates, training and playing.

“My life has always been about playing and all the rest of it did not really interest me. I came to realise that when you don’t do those other things, you save your energy for what counts and what you really love to do, which is playing. Then your career goes that bit longer.”