Behind every great man, is a woman. Or so they say. I have always been fascinated about the women who captured the hearts of football’s greatest players. So I decided to do a little digging into the women who are collectively called WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends of Football Players).
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| this Spanish striker is known for kissing his wedding ring after scoring a goal, as a tribute to his wife |
I know, I know… I said I’ll try not to feature WAGs that are models, but when I saw Raul score for Schalke in the 1st Leg of Champions League's Round of 16 and did his “kissing-of-his-wedding-ring” goal celebration, it made me curious about his wife. So my next WAG post will be about Raul Gonzales’ other half.
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| former Queen WAG in Real Madrid |
Full Name: María del
Married To: Raúl Gonzales (of Schalke and Spain
Date of Birth: June 23, 1976 (making her 34 years old now)
Date Married: July 1, 1999
Kids:
Their sons are all named after great football players.
- Jorge born February 25, 2000, named after Jorge Valdano (former Real Madrid Coach)
- Hugo born November 20, 2002, named after Hugo Sánchez
- María born December 4, 2009
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| how the hell do you still look like that after five kids?! |
Who she is:
This 5’ 10.5” Spanish model was born in Madrid
When she was still working, she modeled for Armani, Lexus and Pedro Duran (see? She’s a classy model, not the glamour type) and was signed with the agency, SS&M Model Management – Barcelona
She joined in the 1997 'Supermodel of the World' contest and came second.
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| she is described as one the classiest WAGs |
How they met:
She met Raul by end of 1997 while working in a bar (which Raul owned) in Madrid Madrid
Although, I found articles that suggest that Real Madrid may have some influence on their players’ love life. When a Real player looks in danger of mixing with dangerously racy circles, the management would step in to find them more suitable escorts. When Raul and Guti (Jose Maria Gutierrez) were becoming party boys and spending more time in nightclubs and with models, the club began introducing them to girls of quality breeding - basically it found them wives, says one friend of a player. With Raul’s lifestyle becoming increasingly turbulent, the club politely told him to get a steady girlfriend and settle down. Which he then started dating Mamen Sanz. (hhhhmmmmm… isn’t this the same deal with Cristiano Ronaldo and his supermodel GF Irina Shaykh?? But I dunno though if it’s the club that pushed for it)
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| This cute couple has been married for a decade. They take their children to school whenever they can, usually holding hands as they leave the house. |
Trivia and Other Interesting Tidbits:
- When rumors swirled that his marriage was in trouble, Raul took to kissing his wedding ring after each goal to demonstrate his love for Mamen (so if he stops kissing his wedding ring when scoring a goal, could it mean they've split or that their marriage is on their rocks?? or... what if he forgets to kiss his wedding ring?? what will Mamen think?).
- She was pregnant with their first child when they got married (not like it's unusual these days)
- She is BFFs with Luis Figo’s wife, Helen Svedin, when Raul and Figo were still in Real (but I don’t know if they still keep in touch now that they're based in
Germany - When David Beckham transferred to Real Madrid in 2003, Mamen made a catty comment against Victoria Beckham when there were whispers in the fashion industry that Posh Spice would be working alongside her on the catwalk for the top British designer John Richmond. Mamen has been modelling the women's wear of the designer for a while then.
- When Raul was still in Real, they lived out of town in an enormous estate, so huge that one of their children got lost for a whole day (ahhh.. the perils of being rich.. you're place is so big, you could get lost in it). They moved to a smaller place after the incident.
- Mamen graduated from
Madrid