June 4 – Manchester City are considering legal action after Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme publicly claimed he would sign Erling Haaland if elected president of the Spanish giants.
The extraordinary intervention has added another layer of drama to Real Madrid’s first contested presidential election in two decades, with Riquelme using a television appearance on Wednesday to unveil a Madrid shirt bearing Haaland’s name and suggests the Norwegian striker was open to a move to the Santiago Bernabéu.
“He has a release clause and would like to join Real Madrid,” Riquelme said. “If I become president, he will play for Real Madrid.”
The comments were swiftly met with a robust response from both Haaland’s camp and Manchester City. In a joint statement issued by the player’s father and agent, the claims were dismissed outright, before City raised the prospect of legal action over the use of the striker’s image during the campaign.
“The stories which have emerged from Spain regarding the future of Erling Haaland are untrue,” the statement read. “There is no chance of this happening and there is no contractual clause to enable it.
“We are considering legal action for the use of our player image in this context.”
Riquelme did not stop there. The 37-year-old businessman also pledged to bring City midfielder Rodri to Madrid should he defeat long-serving president Florentino Pérez.
“He is a great player, in a position where Madrid need to strengthen,” Riquelme said. “We have spoken to his agent. We have to respect his club, but if I’m president he will play for Madrid. I will do everything possible.”
The transfer promises have become a central feature of a campaign that has transformed what is usually a predictable Real Madrid presidential process into one of the club’s most colourful elections in recent memory.
Pérez, who has largely dominated Madrid politics since returning to power in 2009, is facing opposition for the first time in 20 years following a disappointing campaign in which the club failed to secure major silverware.
Riquelme has attempted to position himself as the candidate of change, promising sweeping benefits for club members, including the construction of a new fan complex near Madrid’s training centre featuring swimming pools, padel courts and a basketball arena.
He has also pledged to cut annual membership fees by up to 50% should the club fail to win the Champions League next season.
The challenger has further differentiated himself by opposing Pérez’s reported decision to appoint José Mourinho as head coach. While Pérez has yet to formally confirm the appointment, it is widely expected should he secure another term in office.
Instead, Riquelme has repeatedly hinted at alternative targets, with former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp emerging as the standout name linked to his campaign.
“My coach is the one Real Madrid fans want,” Riquelme said this week, declining to reveal a specific candidate. Speaking previously about Klopp, he added: “Naturally, I would love for profiles of that calibre, and others like them, to coach this club.”
Pérez, meanwhile, has sought to focus attention on football matters rather than campaign theatrics. “I always say that in football you don’t always win,” he said.
“We haven’t achieved the expected results, but we’ve identified the problems. The team couldn’t have a pre-season due to the Club World Cup, and that hampered us all year.
“We had almost 30 injuries in the first half of the season and that was a decisive factor. We’re already working to face the challenges of the new season.”
The increasingly bitter campaign has also been marked by public attempts from both camps to undermine one another. During Riquelme’s appearance on popular Spanish television show El Hormiguero, Pérez’s supporters reportedly purchased advertising space to announce Mourinho as the club’s next manager and urge members to back the incumbent president.
Yet amid the political manoeuvring, it is the Haaland saga that has generated potentially the biggest consequences.
- Harry Ewing
