Wolves confirms Raul Jimenez will play with Mexican National Team

Raúl Jiménez returns to the Mexican National Team for the World Cup qualifiers against Canada, Honduras, and El Salvador. After appearing in Gerardo Martino's call-up list, Wolverhampton confirmed that the striker will play for Mexico, after the team did not give permission for the September Fifa date, due to Premier League restrictions on not ceding players from countries on England's red list from travel restrictions to Covid-19.

Through their social networks, Wolves announced that Raúl Jiménez will travel to Mexico to play the knockout matches and will return in time and form for the team's next Premier League match to be held on October 16 against Aston Villa.

In this way, the striker will return to wear the Mexican National Team's jersey after 11 months of absence due to the skull fracture he suffered in a Premier League match against Arsenal. November 17, 2020, is the most recent date Raúl played for Mexico. On that occasion, El Tri defeated Japan in a friendly match, where Jiménez scored a goal.

The return of the former Benfica player to the national team comes just at the moment when the 30-year-old player found the net again in the last match against Southampton. This Saturday, Wolves will host Newcastle and after that game, Raúl Jiménez will travel to Mexico to report to Martino's team.

Facts about Raul Jimenez

Raul Jimenez became the most expensive Mexican in history when the Wolves bought him for 38 million euros from Benfica. The Wolves forward, who was despised by Atletico Madrid at the time, was living his second season in England before soccer stopped because of the coronavirus.

When he was a child, Raúl Jimenez went to Cruz Azul and since he was born in Tepeji del Río, Hidalgo, he entered the cement school with the intention of staying in what was the team of his dreams. However, he had to leave the place where he was born and later arrived in America. According to his father in some interviews, he did not like scoring goals for Cruz Azul at first.

He is a real 'killer' in front of goal, but Raul Jimenez would also have liked to be a goalkeeper. That is, as long as his destiny was on the pitch. In an interview, he said that if he had not been in the world of soccer, he would have liked to be an engineer. Although according to people close to him, he never got that from school.

When Raul Jimenez was in the sights of European clubs, one of his coaches, Guillermo Huerta, spoke of the hunger for goals he has always had. Huerta points to a kind of obsession Jimenez had with scoring, which led him to score more than a thousand goals when he was in training at the Americanist school.

Raul Alonso Jimenez Rodrigo is a professional soccer player who was born on May 5, 1991 in Tepeji del Río, Hidalgo, Mexico.

No, not like Cuauhtémoc Blanco in the novels. Raul Jimenez would like to continue in the world of soccer after he retires, although not as a coach, but as a television analyst. It will be at least five years before the Mexican 'Lobo' leaves the soccer fields but he already has in mind what could be his future.

"Do you know papito? When I grow up, I'm going to be as good a player as Hugo," was the promise Raul Jimenez made to his father, according to the latter. He didn't exactly grow up following Hugo Sanchez's career, but he did grow up following Cristiano Ronaldo's. That's why the former America striker has both characters as his idols.

We might all think that a soccer player's favorite pastime is soccer, but that is not the case with Raul Jimenez. The Mexican forward leaves the sports grounds for a while to dedicate himself to other things. In an interview for a YouTube channel, he mentioned that he loves movies and bowling. His favorite movies? From 'Lion King', which surely marked his childhood, to 'I am a Legend'.

Raul Jimenez was named "Best Player" of the Wolves season

Raul Jimenez's performances continue to make him a household name in English soccer, as he was named Wolverhampton's Best Player of the 2019-2020 season. It will be necessary to remember that the Mexican finished with a record of 27 annotations and 10 assists in all the competitions he played.

Through social networks, the English team congratulated its forward and recognized his great performance to position the Wolves in European competitions. "That's right! Raul Jimenez has been chosen as the 'Player of the Season' by his teammates. An incredible year of the 'Mexican Wolf'," wrote the club on its Twitter account.

In addition to the recognition, Wolverhampton published a video in which several players of the team are shown highlighting the virtues of the American player. In the images appears Adama Traore, Jimenez's partner in the offensive sector.

"It's not only about the quality he has, but also the character he has around the team. He moves with the ball, he moves without the ball, he can hold the ball and he is a very good finisher", said the now Spanish national team player.

At the end of the clip, the award-winning forward appears explaining his motivations and plans for the future. "We all know that we have achieved good things since we were promoted, but we want more, we have to dream big and move forward," concluded Jimenez in the context of a transfer market that has placed him as one of the most desired players today.

For months, several international media had placed the Mexican striker in the orbit of the Premier League teams like Manchester United and Juventus, however, everything points to the fact that the clubs did not reach an agreement, since Jimenez reported on the Wolves' preseason. The price of the national team, according to information from the newspaper As, is around 90 million pounds, almost 100 million euros, an amount that Juventus and Manchester United did not decide to pay.

The possible arrival of Raul Jimenez at Juventus was not so far-fetched. Even figures such as Fabio Capello declared that the Mexican would be the ideal partner for Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala. "I have seen Raul Jimenez, is an important player who has a lot of quality, is the right player to play with Cristiano Ronaldo, because Cristiano has lacked a Benzema in Juventus, this can be Raul Jimenez," said Capello in an interview with ESPN.

The realities of Raul Jimenez and Karim Benzema are very similar. In 48 matches, which correspond to the 2019-2020 season, the Frenchman scored 27 goals and 11 assists for Real Madrid. The Mexican, on the other hand, in 55 games also scored 27 goals and added 10 assists.

Raul Jimenez' path to becoming a Wolverhampton idol

Raul Jimenez, a Mexican forward who emigrated to Europe in 2014, established himself as a Wolverhampton historic in the English Premier League. After his time at Atletico Madrid and Benfica de Portugal, two teams that are referenced in Europe, the native of Tepeji del Rio, Hidalgo, arrived in 2018 at the English Midlands to achieve a dream feat with the newly promoted Wolves.

To put in perspective, the best season of a Mexican in England goes back to 2010-2011 when Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez scored 13 goals and gave 2 assists with Manchester United. While Wolverhampton's top scorer in the Premier League was Scotland's Steven Fletcher, with 22 goals.

RJ9, as the Mexican forward is known by his initials and his jersey, already broke both records with his 30 goals in just two seasons.

Today, Jimenez is one of the most effective strikers in England and Europe, his market value amounts to 40 million Euros, according to the specialized site Transfermarkt, and in the last months, there have been several rumors about the interest of teams such as Juventus or Manchester United to buy him.

Raul's desire to demonstrate his quality and the need of the newly promoted Wolves to be a leading team in the Premier League was the perfect combination for the Hidalgo player to consolidate his explosive game and make a name for himself in one of the best leagues in the world.

In a couple of years, he has been in England, he has scored high-quality goals against teams considered the best: Liverpool (the current champion), Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal.

In a country where soccer transcends sports and permeates social, economic, and political issues, Raul has earned the love and respect of the people of Wolverhampton to become an idol. Proof of this are the songs composed in his honor that before the pandemic could be heard in Molineaux State, as well as the hats, flags, fighters' masks, and jorongos that the fans wore at every game.