How about a little bit of alternative history for you on this Friday afternoon? Today's starting point comes to us courtesy of Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner, who tweeted the following:

Got one for ya. All the talk about Raul, #DCU was in mix to try and sign him two years ago before he went to Schalke.

— Craig Stouffer (@CraigStouffer) April 20, 2012

Raul left Real Madrid in 2010 after a 16-year stint with the famous Spanish club, during which he established himself as the club's all-time leading goalscorer, with 323 goals in 741 appearances in all competitions.

Raul had scored just 7 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions in 2009-10, his lowest total since 2005-06, and there was a very real sense that his time in Spain was at an end.

We'll likely never know how close D.C. United came to inking Raul in 2010. They did sign Branko Boskovic that summer as their new designated player, but it would have been fascinating to watch Raul do his poacher's thing against MLS defenses.

Ah, well. One for the "what-if?" file.