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www.footballmedia.net: Rashid Saadlou ( Exclusive)- No place for me at Athletico? No problem, I would join Real Madrid. Fancying the opportunity to play for La Furia Roja? No problem, I am in peace at Madrid. Starting from the bench at Real? No!!! What about now?

Santiago Bernabéu will barely witness one of its trademark standing ovations again as their ever-exemplary captain Raul Gonzalez cannot find a role to play in his beloved side these days. It seems as if there is no more room for yesterday's hero of non-Galácticos era and today's has-been of Galácticos II project.

Having some sensational stars such as Kaka, Ronaldo and Benzema in their starting line-up and promising youngsters like Granero behind the scenes, Real Madrid seems to have no place for Raul who now finds himself in the twilight of his career. When talking about desire in football, in an interview with WorldSoccer on October 2008, Barcelona's former striker Samuel Eto'o said: "I always say that one player who I admire is Raul. He typifies what I'm talking about – that desire, season after season, to keep scoring goals, to never let up, even when people are ignoring him or questioning him." Definitely Eto'o was right when he talked about how Raul used to turn a blind eye to his castigating critics, but at the moment the pinch lies in Manuel Pelegrini's shoe who sounds willingness to give even one more chance to El Angel. After beating Alfredo Di Estefano's long-lived record this season and adding another milestone to his outstanding dossier, El Capitan has had cameo appearances every now and again, most notably versus arch-rivals Barcelona; the team that Raul knows best how to find the back of their net and has scored 11 times against them in the last 15 years. Raul didn't even come on as a substitute against Mallorca on Sunday and doubtlessly, he is not given to this kind of uneasiness.

· No place like home

As Raul is far from his vintage years, so is the vice-captain Guti, who had to face his fair share of adversities this season as well. The moody blonde is well below the par and his performances over the last decade have proved to be inconsistent. Fair play to Guti, his best during the past five years has been 2006-2007 season under the guide of Fabio Capello. He played a pivotal role in his team's win over Sevilla in the final and crucial fixtures of the season. He also had an assist in El Classico's six goals thriller at Camp Nou and put a decent performance against Catalan giants.

With Guti and Raul at the age of 33 and 32 respectively, it would be fascinating to see what will be the final chapter for them at Madrid's royal club. Raul who has always been a dead set against Florentino Perez's Galácticos policy is now pushed to think about hanging up his boots more than ever as there is little sight of playing for Spain national team at this moment.

As for Guti, with the likes of young Diarra and gifted Kaka in the midfield, his services would be uncalled for; plus, Guti hardly meets the conditions of Galácticos policy on and off the pitch. He can be a great playmaker now and an unpredictable troublemaker next. In fact, Guti can make or break your day so easily and for that reason, Pelegrini who already feels the pressure from Florentino Perez finds it a mad scheme to play Guti in his starting eleven. The future is far from certain for Raul and his fellow team-mate; but one thing is for sure: They are not so young to think about a new lease of life outside of Bernabéu. Madrid is now a home so hard to leave behind.