Raul rejects Blackburn move

Schalke 04 striker Raul has turned down the opportunity to move to Blackburn, and looks set to stay at the Gelsenkirchen for the year ahead.

General manager Horst Heldt confirmed on the official club website that Raul would stay: "Both our coach, Ralf Rangnick,my colleague (board member) Peter Peters and I have always stressed that we do not want him to leave.

"Raul told us that he wants to stay with Schalke and asked us to turn Blackburn Rovers down. We have already done that.

"We are pleased that Raul wants to continue to contribute to our sporting success."