Raul decision to come in January

Schalke striker Raul says he will make up his mind about his future during the winter break after firing Schalke to a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen yesterday. The Spaniard netted his third hat-trick since arriving at the Royal Blues 18 months ago as they moved up to third in the Bundesliga table, leaving the prospect of UEFA Champions League football next season open. That may well be enough to convince Raul to extend his contract, which expires in June, and he says he is just enjoying his football right now and will do all he can for the club, even if he is no longer part of it from next summer. "I just want to carry on playing over the next five months the way I am playing now," he told Sky. "We will just have to see what happens after. My decision will be made in January. "The important thing is that the team is in great form at the moment and with the club in such a privileged position of being in the league, the Europa League and the DFB-Pokal, in the end it doesn't matter if I continue or not." Even if Raul were to leave in the summer, he will have made a major impact in his two years with the club. His goals in the Champions League last season enabled him to become the tournament's all-time top goalscorer, while he celebrated DFB-Pokal success in Berlin last May. This season, he has netted his first-ever goal in the UEFA Europa League and has found the back of the net a total of ten times, helping Schalke into third position at the midway stage of the season, just three points behind league leaders Bayern Munich. And he showed how much it means to him to be part of the Schalke team by pounding the badge on his shirt after completing his hat-trick yesterday. "That was to thank the fans because I have been accepted so well and I feel so happy here," he explained.