Real Madrid legend Raúl González, currently of the New York Cosmos, held forth in an interview with the magazines Panenka and So Foot.

"I don't really understand what 'Galácticos' is supposed to mean. It's a term I dislike. I like football, pure and simple, and that concept ['Galácticos'] isn't part of football. It's something else entirely", the forward stated in reference to the star-studded period at the Bernabéu in the early noughties.

"We had the cream of the market every year and when I used to see those class acts train, I would think to myself: 'What can I offer them to make them even better?'" Raúl went on.

"I've devoted my life to doing what I love: playing football. I was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or once and came third on another occasion. Could I have won it? Maybe. But I don't care. Football is a team sport", the 37-year-old noted.

Asked about Real Madrid's "nobility", an attribute the club considers part of its DNA, Raúl claimed that "Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas embody it well, but so do several foreign players who have been at the club for a while and really get what it means".

The veteran also spoke about his time at Qatari club Al-Sadd, where another Spanish legend, Xavi Hernández, has been tipped to move. Comparing that spell of his career with his current experiences in New York, he remarked, "I got used to playing at half-empty stadiums. There was no one in the stands in Qatar. The atmosphere here has made me all of a sudden feel like I'm back at the Bernabéu".