by As one of the most interesting players in La Liga today, Raul de Tomas has many fans. The former Real Madrid and Benfica man has been a consistent scorer of goals for the likes of Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol. Having been in Spain squads in the past, ‘RdT’ is seen as one of the most intriguing forward players in the national team pool. A real gunslinger of a forward, he is a throwback in the way he plays.
However, the player has also been noted for his fiery temperament in the past. Despite helping Espanyol to promotion and consolidation in the top-flight, the player was keen to move on from the club. He returned to former club Rayo Vallecano. Unable to break back into the team under former Granada coach Diego Martinez, de Tomas was quick to send a barb in the direction of his former employers.
Saying that the club had “marginalised” and “undervalued” him, the striker posted an inflammatory post on social media that took aim at Espanyol, his former coach, and even Diario AS editor, Alberto Martinez, querying: “How would you feel if I started spreading false rumours and defaming you and your family? Can you look in the mirror with a clear conscience?”
After Espanyol called the player out without naming him, posting a photo of the club badge and its supporters with the tagline “above everything and everyone”, the striker bit back saying he could “only see cowardice, a lack of ethics and mediocrity.”
Naturally, such incendiary language has not gone down well. It was even suggested that the agent of the player headbutted Rayo president Raul Martin Presa. Espanyol have now responded, further inflaming what was already a very delicate situation.
‘RdT’ expected to start afresh at Vallecano
Having made his name in the suburbs of Madrid, the striker then went to Espanyol and was, for a time, a hero of the support. Now, as explained by Sporting Director Domingo Catoira, there were major issues that had to be solved. The Espanyol SD said: “This transformed into a serious problem, I want the fans to understand that. We get rid of a serious problem. There is no employee that can be more important than the entity.”
He also claimed that the striker was feigning injury to get out of training, adding: “He says he had some discomfort and a small injury was detected in his abductor, but the issue of pain and of not improving [the injury] is personal. The best escape route is from training and playing. It is of the lying genre what he said.”
Whatever happens next, the entire situation has been unsavoury for all involved. After a period of relative success in blue and white, it looks like de Tomas will never receive the adulation he would have wanted from his own fans. For Vallecano, the return of a prodigal son has not been without problems – in such a dramatic story, it is hard to say for certain what happens next.
