He began as a youth team player at Real Madrid, making only one substitute appearance for the first team but playing and scoring regularly on loans to Córdoba, Valladolid and Rayo Vallecano of the Segunda División, winning promotion to La Liga with the last of those teams. In 2019 he joined Portuguese club Benfica for a €20 million fee, returning to Spain's top flight with Espanyol six months later for the same price and signing for Rayo again in 2022.
Born in Madrid to a Spanish father and a Dominican mother,[2][3] De Tomás joined Real Madrid's youth academy in 2004 after starting out at CD San Roque EFF. He played his first senior match on 8 April 2012, featuring the last 21 minutes for the C team in a 2–0 home win against CF Pozuelo de Alarcón in the Tercera División.
On 16 December, back with the C side, De Tomás scored a hat-trick in a 5–2 home defeat of CD Marino.[5] He continued to represent both affiliates during the season, and was definitely promoted to Castilla in September 2013.[6]
De Tomás scored his first professional goal on 4 December 2013, netting the first in a 3–2 home victory over Girona FC.[7] He contributed with a further six in 27 appearances over the campaign, as the B team suffered relegation.[8]
In July 2014, De Tomás was included in the main squad for its pre-season trip to the United States.[9] He made his competitive debut for them on 29 October of the same year, replacing Karim Benzema in a 4–1 away defeat of UE Cornellà in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey.[10][11]
Loans
On 31 August 2015, De Tomás was loaned to Córdoba CF in a season-long move.[12] A year later, he signed with Real Valladolid also in the second tier and in a temporary deal.[13]
During his spell at the Estádio da Luz, De Tomás scored only three goals from 17 appearances.[30][31]
Espanyol
On 9 January 2020, De Tomás returned to his country's top flight, signing for RCD Espanyol on a contract lasting until 2026.[32] The transfer fee of €20 million was a new record for the club from Barcelona, nearly doubling the €10.5 million they paid for Matías Vargas; Benfica retained 20% of his future transfer fee.[31] Three days after joining, he made his debut away to UD San Sebastián de los Reyes in the third round of the national cup, coming on in the 61st minute for Jonathan Calleri and wrapping up a 2–0 win.[33] On 19 January, he started in his first league game and scored the decisive goal of a 2–1 victory at Villarreal CF.[34] He scored in each of his first five games, triggering a clause that obliged Espanyol to pay Benfica a further €500,000.[35]
In 2020–21, De Tomás was the league's top scorer with 23 goals as the side won the title and returned to the top division one year after relegation.[36] He was voted Player of the Month for December, scoring four times as his team won their four fixtures.[37]
De Tomás scored in a 2–1 home win over Real Madrid on 3 October 2021 to start a run of goals in five consecutive matches,[38] though he was sent off for an aggression towards Athletic Bilbao's Yeray Álvarez in the fourth of them.[39] Another series of goals over five games included a red card in a 4–1 loss to Real Betis at the RCDE Stadium on 21 January and was concluded with an equaliser in a 2–2 draw in the Derbi barceloní against FC Barcelona on 13 February.[40][41] With 17 goals in 34 appearances, he was joint-second top scorer in the league season behind Karim Benzema and level with Vinícius Júnior and Iago Aspas; he shared the Zarra Trophy for best domestic scorer with the latter, who had played one game more.[42]
Return to Rayo
On 13 September 2022, De Tomás returned to Rayo Vallecano on a five-year contract, for a reported initial fee of €8 million with €3 million more dependent on performances; having missed the closing of the transfer window, he only became available for the team's official matches starting January 2023. The transfer went through protracted and heated negotiations, with president Raúl Martín Presa reporting one of the player's agents for an alleged headbutt.[43][44]
De Tomás did not score for Rayo until 4 May 2023, when he opened a 2–1 home win over former side Valladolid near the anniversary of his last goal.[45] He totalled only four goals in his first 30 games back at the club, all coming at the end of the season.[46] In the first half of the following campaign, his only strike was in a 2–0 victory against fourth-tierYeclano Deportivo in the second round of the cup.[47]
De Tomás' father, also named Raúl (born 1967), was also a footballer and a forward. He spent most of his career in the Spanish third tier.[50] His younger brother, Rubén, came through the youth ranks of Rayo Vallecano.[51]
^Pérez Neró, Nathanael (28 July 2014). "Dominicano debuta con el Real Madrid" [Dominican makes debut with Real Madrid] (in Spanish). Diario Libre. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
^Díaz, Miguel Ángel (16 December 2012). "Raúl De Tomás aniquiló al Marino" [Raúl De Tomás annihilated Marino] (in Spanish). Defensa Central. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
^Giraldo, Emilio (3 September 2013). "El Castilla se queda sin Henrique" [Castilla lose Henrique]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 September 2015.
^Jiménez, Rubén (4 December 2013). "El Castilla ahuyenta fantasmas" [Castilla chase ghosts away]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 September 2015.
^Domínguez, Leticia (22 May 2014). "Lucas Vázquez, el pichichi del Castilla" [Lucas Vázquez, Castilla's pichichi] (in Spanish). Bernabéu Digital. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
^Rodríguez, Roberto (12 January 2020). "De Tomás ya golea para el Espanyol" [De Tomás scores already for Espanyol]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
^Gabarró, Fernando (15 November 2023). "Raúl de Tomás, lejos de su mejor versión" [Raúl de Tomás, far from his best version]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 January 2024.