Raul moved to the German club after 16 years in Spain.

BERLIN: Former Spanish international striker Raul insisted on Sunday he will fulfil his contract with Schalke 04, despite speculation he was set to quit the Royal Blues.

The 34-year-old former Real Madrid star is under contract in Gelsenkirchen until June 2012 and he says he intends on seeing that through.

“I will be staying definitely at Schalke and I will fulfil my contract,” he said in a statement on the Schalke website.

“I do not get tired of saying it again and again that I feel at home with Schalke. The affection the fans here have shown me is extraordinary and memorable.”

Schalke rejected an official bid for Raul from English outfit Blackburn Rovers last Tuesday, while French side Paris St. Germain and Malaga of Spain are also reported to have expressed an interest.

Raul played a key role in Schalke's amazing 4-2 win at Mainz on Sunday as the Royal Blues came back from 2-0 down to score four second-half goals.

Schalke's director of sport Horst Heldt admitted he was now glad to put the Raul saga to rest.

“It was important before the game in Mainz to make a statement,” he said.

“I'm glad that we have found a common consensus and the topic has now been put aside.”

Raul - who helped the German club win their domestic cup last season and reach the Champions League semi-finals - missed Schalke's 2-0 defeat at HJK Helsinki on Thursday in a Europa League qualifier, fuelling rumours of a rift in the German media between him and coach Ralf Rangnick.

The Spaniard admitted he was surprised by the way the German media reacted to his sitting out the trip to Helsinki.

“I can certainly understand that different things were read into it, but perhaps the background knowledge was missing,” said Raul.

“I had spoken with the coach and we decided together that I needed some rest and to put in some special individual training.”