REAL MADRID legend Raul is in talks to take on his first senior management job.
The iconic former Los Blancos striker, 46, became the B-team coach at the Bernabeu in 2019.
Legendary striker Raul could be set to leave Real Madrid B to take over as Villarreal managerGetty
He has ambitions eventually to take over as the first-team boss.
However, Raul appreciates he may need to leave for experience elsewhere in order to land the top job.
And now Marca report he is in talks with Villarreal over their vacant hot seat.
The Yellow Submarine sacked ex-Barcelona boss Quique Setien this week after a poor start to the season.
Villarreal lost three of their opening four LaLiga games before the international break.
And ahead of their Europa League campaign getting underway against Rennes, Maccabi Haifa and Panathinaikos, they decided to make the change.
Now they have identified Raul as a suitable replacement for Setien.
It is understood Real Madrid have given Raul the green light to make the switch and step up to take charge of a first team for the first time.
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Villarreal have an experienced side with plenty of strong characters and veterans – something Setien struggled to cope with.
But former Spain forward Raul, who scored 323 goals for Real in 741 appearances, carries plenty of authority thanks to his exploits for club and country and appears keen for the challenge.
Raul was approached by Eintracht Frankfurt, Schalke, Espanyol and Leeds earlier this year but decided to stay put with Madrid’s ‘Castilla’ side.
He holds a strong relationship with Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Both Ancelotti and Madrid are aware Raul wants the main job at some stage.
The Italian boss has been strongly linked with the Brazil job.
But he has no immediate plans to leave his role and Raul knows he cannot be guaranteed of his spot in the Bernabeu dugout just yet.
So he is willing to head elsewhere and build his experience before hopefully returning to open arms in the future.
GettyRaul was a key member of the famous Galacticos era in the early 2000s[/caption]