Former Benfica Player Surprisingly Registered by Rayo Vallecano

In one of the most surprising moves of the Spanish summer transfer window's closing stages, Rayo Vallecano has registered forward Raúl de Tomás, offering him a fresh start under manager Beñat San José. This decision comes after the club's unsuccessful attempts to offload him throughout July and August, as reported by Marca.

With a contract valid until June 2027, the former Benfica player returned to Rayo Vallecano this summer following an unsuccessful loan spell at Al Wakrah in Qatar. Despite his future seemingly lying elsewhere, a lack of concrete offers led to his retention and subsequent registration.

It's worth recalling that a year ago, the striker found himself out of favor with Íñigo Pérez and moved to Qatar in search of playing time to regain his confidence and top form. However, that experience was short-lived, resulting in just 13 official appearances, three of which were starts, and three goals in 431 minutes.

An injury at the start of 2026 precipitated his departure from Al Wakrah, with his loan contract terminated in February. Since then, the player has been sidelined, having not played for nearly nine months. His last match was on January 7th against Al Arabi, where he featured for only 22 minutes.

During pre-season, Raúl de Tomás trained separately from the main squad, undertaking individual work. While all signs pointed to another loan or transfer, the absence of offers prompted the club to grant him a final opportunity to redeem himself and once again become a key player, as he was in the past.

Since his return to Rayo in 2022, in a transfer from Espanyol reportedly worth around ten million euros, making him the club's most expensive signing at the time, Raúl de Tomás has struggled for consistency. In the 2022/23 season, he made 19 appearances and scored four goals; in 2023/24, he played 28 matches and netted twice; and in 2024/25, under Íñigo Pérez, he featured in just three games before being sidelined for two and a half months due to a "common illness," as stated by the club.

In total, over the last three seasons, the 31-year-old forward has accumulated 50 appearances, a far cry from his first stint at the club between 2017 and 2019, when he scored 38 goals in 66 matches before moving to Benfica for approximately 20 million euros.

The transfer window closed in Spain, and most major leagues, including Europe's top five, last Tuesday. However, it remains open in other destinations, such as Portugal until September 4th or Saudi Arabia until September 6th. Nevertheless, Spanish media reports suggest that RDT's future now firmly lies with Rayo Vallecano.