Raúl González Blanco

“Because the suffering of any human being diminishes all of us,it’s our responsibility to try to ease that suffering”

Spain’s leading goalscorer of all times, Raúl González, was appointed FAO Goodwill Ambassador in October 2004, at the age of 27. Long before the arrival of other soccer stars such as Ronaldo and Beckham, Spanish prodigy Raúl was justifying the price of an entrance ticket to see Real Madrid, his football team. On October 29, 1994, Madrid coach Jorge Valdano gave him his debut. Raúl was 17 at the time. Madrid and Valdano have never looked back.

He has since drawn plaudits from all the major figures in world football and from the general public. Raúl is a genuine star. He scores a goal every two matches on average. He has also helped his team win three Champions League titles (the last was in 2002), two European-South American Cups and four Spanish championships. Born in Madrid and typifying traditional values, he is extremely popular all over the world and in Spain, where he has become a kind of national hero.

In addition to his impressive sports talents, his commitment to humanitarian causes has won him the respect of the public. From 2004 to 2007, Raúl has recorded televised support messages during the broadcast of the gala solidarity event organized by the Spanish television group RTVE, entirely dedicated to FAO/TeleFood. In June 2006, he featured in a PSA appearing on the Homevideoshow magazine, distributed in all major Italian cinemas. In November 2006, Raúl visited TeleFood projects in Senegal, benefiting from wide international media coverage. In October 2007, the football champion was instrumental in the successful achievement of the collaborative initiative between FAO and the Spanish Liga de Fútbol Profesional.

In May 2008 Raul González was awarded the first edition Spanish prize for solidarity in sports for 30 000, which he donated to fund five TeleFood fighting-hunger projects.