Maradona rubbishes Raul rumours

Al Wasl coach Diego Maradona has dismissed speculation linking his side with a move for Schalke’s Spanish forward Raul.

Maradona has made it clear this week that he wants reinforcements for his Al Wasl squad which currently sits in sixth in the UAE Pro-League.

Reports in the German media had linked Raul, who is out of contract at Schalke at the end of this season, to Al Wasl but Maradona quashed the rumours.

“When it comes to Raul, there is no truth in the stories,” Maradona told reporters.

The Argentine jokingly added: “The foreign players we would like are Messi, Aguero and Xavi, and if we get those, I’m sure we can find an Asian player to join them.”

Maradona is expected to allow duo Edson Puch and Richard Porta to leave the club to open up foreign spots in their squad, but revealed he was working within a tight budget and downplayed any suggestion of big names moving to the Zabeel outfit.

“Whoever comes in, it will depend on the price. Price is a major factor when evaluating our targets. Players like (Didier) Drogba don’t fit into that,” Maradona said.

“We have a budget and we have to find a better way of dealing with that budget so we can be more competitive.”