Raul Gonzalez keen to stay at Real Madrid Castilla as Florentino Perez plans in the air

Real Madrid Castilla will be playing in Primera RFEF next season, Spain’s third tier, after losing out to Eldense in their play-off final on Sunday night. Drawing 3-3 on aggregate after extra time, Eldense’s higher league position saw them through.

The big question for the Castilla side is who will be in charge next season. Although he was expected to leave in the summer, Diario AS say that manager Raul Gonzalez is keen to stay next season and try to win promotion next year. They also highlight that he has turned down offers from elsewhere in recent months to stay at Castilla. Next season looks especially tough, with the likes of Malaga, Cordoba and Deportivo La Coruna all potentially in their division.

However this throws something of a spanner in the works at Real Madrid. The plan was originally for Raul to move on, and promote Alvaro Arbeloa to the Castilla position from the under-19 side, where he has done stellar work. Arbeloa is the golden goose of President Florentino Perez.

Whether Real Madrid are willing to dismiss a living legend like Raul, who is doing a good job, is the question. Sacking Raul would likely be unpopular, yet if they do not see him as first-team potential yet, then it would be the logical thing to be to move Raul on for him to gain experience elsewhere.