Raúl de Tomás: “I'm going to be from Espanyol until I die”

Behind her haughty image hides pure shyness. After the impassive scorer, an animal lover (“horses are my peace”). And behind Raúl de Tomás, the front reference of the Spanish, bursts in a happy boy sculpted between the demands of someone who was trained in the Real Madrid and the humility of the son of a former soccer player Second B, where bread is not given away. All this, and more, is shedding the leaves in the talk he had with ACE this Thursday, in the Dani Jarque Sports City, just in the week of one of the great games of the season.

I will try to look him in the eye.

(He smiles) I know why you say it, it is what I asked the day of my presentation to a journalist, without any bad intention. Only if you look someone in the face you understand yourself better. I can do that kind of thing, but in reality, and even if it seems the opposite, I am very shy.

Is his haughty image a breastplate?

It can be, but not in a negative way. It's distance, distrust … But when I already meet someone I open up a lot and I'm very normal.

There are those who relate it to having been a Real Madrid youth squad, even with CR7… Is there something of that in his pose?

It is true that, having played for Madrid, since I was a child I have been judged a lot, and that may be why I have that suspicion, it comes naturally to me.

And how much about the son of a Second B footballer who sometimes paid late and badly?

I am very humble, my family has always been. Since we were little, my father has instilled in us that things have to be earned, we have to fight, work … And that is really what I am, although I may appear to be the opposite. My feet are on the ground, I know what it takes to get something and that's why I work every day.

Could it be that a scorer, who sounds glamorous, is actually a day laborer, like his father's modest football?

The scorer has added pressure, with a very difficult function, because I believe that there is nothing more complicated than scoring a goal, than placing the ball between the three sticks. However, that makes you very strong.

Is the scorer the one who sleeps the least in a team?

Exactly. When things don't go well, you know that the focus is going to fall on you, because soccer is ultimately goals. But it is what strengthens you to get it to the next game.

Lewandowski said a few days ago in El País that the striker makes less and less watermarks, he called it poetry, because people watch few complete matches and judge by statistics or summaries, that is, by goals.

Well yes, watching entire matches is something that has been lost in football. I always put the example of Benzema: when he didn't score goals, they said that if he wasn't worth it, and yet you watch his game and enjoy it. In my case, there are days when I don't score but I leave satisfied, although many people don't see that work, with or without the ball, helping the team, assisting… He should recover. Many times great players are not valued, whether they are forwards or not, because the games are not seen, just because of the data or depending on whether or not they have scored a goal.

And in those that the VAR arrived. One more judge in that complex day to day?

Yes, because in the end you have to measure everything. You are in the area and, in case you weren't enough to be aware of whether it is a play by the band, where the ball is going to go, of the uncheck, now you add that you cannot get an inch offside. But in the end you have to accept it because it will not change.

A couple of years ago you said that you didn't like VAR …

(Laughs) Look, I take advantage of it and change my opinion. At first it is true that I did not see it well, but I have realized that in the end it is for both teams. In some game you win thanks to the fact that the VAR has annulled a goal to the rival, so it is fair for everyone. Nor am I going to say that it is wonderful, but it is correct.

And how do you stay calm when in three days the VAR cancels three goals?

Being strong, trying to clear your head, forgetting the past. Because at that moment, on the field, you don't even know it's offside. So you must reset and accept it, in order to try to make the next goal legal.

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Does that mentality also apply to the streak of three penalties that he missed?

That's it. You have the noise of people, of what you hear and read, but you have no choice but to accept it, it is part of the profession. I am a strong-minded and winning person, and I believe that to advance you have to fail, even if I don't like it.

Without those goals disallowed, I would be on the heels of Vinicius …

I met him in the preseason. He is a great boy, very reserved but above all a bit of a footballer. Yes, I could be there fighting with him, but I am happy with my performance and with that of the team, and we must translate that to win this weekend.

Can you imagine that you could now be in Vinicius's place, at Real Madrid?

I had the option to stay when I spoke with Julen (Lopetegui), but I decided not to because I felt that I was not going to be a participant in that year, because the preseason was not good for me, I did not play almost anything, and I need to compete to feel good , happy, practical, so that my family can enjoy watching me play football, and in Madrid I felt that it was not the place or the time. He didn't want to be standing there.

And the following year, he definitively disassociated himself from Madrid.

I was coming from a good season in Primera with Rayo, and in the summer Benfica called me. I didn't even make it to the preseason.

Was signing for Benfica the biggest mistake of your career?

I would call it a success rather than a mistake. If I hadn't gone to Benfica, I wouldn't be at Espanyol today. Things happen because they have to. You have to be grateful, and to be happy now something bad had to happen there, although I had a very bad time.

Were you happy then for Benfica's victory over Barcelona?

(Laughs) I am always one of the teams that I have played for, and they bet on me, their bet made me happy even if it didn't turn out well. So of course I'm glad.

Therefore, has your greatest success been Espanyol?

Well yes, it has been my great success, because I am very happy here, it is like my family, I feel very grateful for Rufete's decision on his day, who called me, signed me and bet, and for risking paying such a figure high. I don't know what the future will hold, the only thing I can say is that I'm going to leave everything for Espanyol. I'm from Espanyol now and I always will be, until I die. I will fight for the club, for the fans and for everyone within this club.

I was quoting Benzema before. Is it a mirror?

I love Benzema, yes, he is a mirror, he is capable of leaving his comfort zone. He is the most complete striker in the world. And I see myself reflected because I like to associate, fall to the band, go down to receive, throw unmarked on the back … A little of everything. The complete striker is not only the one in the area to push it, although he would sign it if it serves to score 30 goals a year. But I've always played football like this.

Does he compensate for that wear even when he is more forced to finish?

Many times I think about it, but when you are not touching the ball you need to move. I do not accept to remain standing because I need to be in contact with the ball. Sometimes it is tiring, but physically I feel fine, as long as my strength lasts.

You made your debut for Real Madrid with Ancelotti and at the RCDE Stadium. Is a circle closing this Sunday?

Yes, a circle is closed, it is all very curious. It was a very special moment for me, and I will always be grateful to Ancelotti. I always highly praise those details that the coaches have with players from the quarry. For me and my family it was very important, I will always be grateful.

And what was he like?

I did not coincide much with him, but he is a top coach, you just have to see his record. And as a person it is a ten. For his treatment of the player and his ability to make decisions in all circumstances. That is capital in a team like Madrid, that's why they have always done well.

Can you be friends with a coach? Because you said that about Vicente Moreno …

The normal thing is that no, because it usually has that distance. But I get along very well with him, and there has been no problem whether he plays or not, because loyalty is shown when things don't go well. I will never put a but to what you decide about me, I will always respect it. I work when people are close, loyal, and honest. And so is Vicente. Having him and the entire coaching staff helps me a lot to play as a game, and that is why I have worked this year and last.

He said that Ancelotti trusted a youth squad like you. Would you say that this, the quarry, is precisely the great virtue of Espanyol?

Totally. There are great players here, like Jofre (Carreras), Nico (Melamed), Álvaro (García), Gori… And surely he will leave me someone. They have a very high level and they are going to be great players who are going to help the club.

June 30, 2026. What does that date suggest to you?

The end of my contract, right? I am very happy here. I love the club, the city … When a friend asks me how about Espanyol, I always highlight how they have welcomed me. I can't say anything bad about anyone. The big clubs feed on something that Espanyol has and that should never change.

Does this squad lack a feat like defeating Real Madrid?

It is clear that in the short term the best thing that could happen to us is to beat Madrid, but we also have to look long. The team needs and must step up. We know that we come from a lower category, that the adaptation period is difficult, that we must maintain the category as it is so that the next few years are easier and that the club continues to grow as it has been up to now.

Does the club have that ambition?

He has it, and he also has people who take care of him and make him bigger, like Rufete, Mao, the president, Durán… People who are working so that the club improves and takes another step forward. Many times people do not see what is done in here because, obviously, it is not there. But there are people who are leaving their soul and life for this club.

Can Madrid's defeat to the Sheriff help or penalize Espanyol?

Although it comes from losing, Madrid is in a lot of danger because it is obliged to always win. They must be wrong and we are completely wrong, we have to get a round match to beat them. Be correct behind and be tuned up. Of course it can happen, you have to trust it. But we cannot fail or it will hurt us.

When Luis Enrique gives a list of the National Team, are you still aware of your mobile or are you already working on something else?

I look at it, because in the end it is my country. Hopefully one day the National Team can call me, it would be a dream come true because if we work it is to do great things. I've been lucky enough to do it in the lower categories and I know exactly what it feels like. What the coach decides is respectable, and whether I go or not I will support the National Team.

What else do you feel you have to do to go?

Score goals, work, that the team goes well and I contribute. The right thing to do is always work hard and be prepared, if the call comes, to help the country.

What does the name Lord Sunshine suggest to you?

It is one of my two horses. I had always liked them a lot, but I had never decided to invest money and time, to compete. I wanted to do it in Lisbon, but I didn't have the mind to get involved in matters outside of football. So when I arrived in Barcelona, ​​finding myself happy, was the first thing I did. I have had up to four horses. It is a passion that I have since I was little. They are my peace. When football is not there, they are there.

Do you feel animalistic?

Yes. I love animals. If I could have 50 at home I would have them, but they need adequate space to live and time.

Are you still practicing other of your passions, boxing?

I continue from time to time. When I have a free time I like to box, to vent a little, boxing helps you to forget a little of everything, to hit, and that makes the head free.

Does it even help to improve as a footballer?

Totally. In the end there are constant movements, supports, turns … You also do that in a match.

What does your personal trainer bring you?

He is my friend, we have been working together for six years and he is the most important person in my professional life because he is the one who helps me the most with food, gym, motivation … I also have bad days, but Pablo is always there to push me forward to continue growing in pursuit of the objectives.

Food, he said. Is it true that, in your opinion, it represents 90 percent of a footballer's performance?

It is. For me, it is the most important thing. Talent gives you up to a certain point, and you can demand yourself in training, but at the end you should have a good diet. The body is like a car: if you demand it in the field and then you don't add gasoline or oil, you will end up breaking it.

How do you strike the balance between exposing all that on social media and not getting too burned?

It is complex because people judge a lot. A couple of years ago, before publishing something, I was wondering if there was going to be a lot of talk. With the passage of time, I have come to realize that each one has his life. You have to respect what everyone wants to say, but I like to show my life because I don't do anything bad or harm anyone: they are animals, in the gym, with my dog, having dinner … Everyone does what they want with their life and the social networks I hope one day they will change, because you have to respect everyone's life.

How did you take, for example, the joke about the picture you painted during confinement?

(Laughs) I did it with great enthusiasm, and then it was a downer to see that everyone was laughing. But later, seeing it with my brother and my mother, we were very amused by the tweets. When they compared me to little children (laughs). I am a serious person but, when it plays, you have to take it with humor.

Have you returned to painting since then?

No! I have not picked up a pen again, people have made me never pick up a pen. (Laughs)

Is it key to have high self-esteem?

I have a lot of self-esteem, a lot of personality, I never do things to hurt anyone but because it turns out that way. And because I respect the one in front and I am not inhibited by what I decide to do with my life.

And does that make you happy?

Exactly. The most important thing in life, beyond work or what you can talk about when a person is public, is to be happy, love your family, have health, and above all feel good about yourself. It is the most important thing to be happy.