Manchester City Consider Legal Action Over Haaland Claims
Manchester City are weighing up legal action after a Real Madrid presidential candidate publicly promised to sign Erling Haaland and even held up a Madrid shirt with the striker’s name on it.
Enrique Riquelme, a 37-year-old renewable energy tycoon attempting to unseat Florentino Perez, made the claim live on television on Wednesday, declaring: “He has a release clause and would like to join Real Madrid. If I become president, he will play for Real Madrid.”
That was enough to trigger an immediate and furious response.
Haaland’s camp moved first. In a rare joint statement, his father and agent dismissed the notion outright, before City themselves stepped in to slam the remarks and the imagery used around them.
“The stories which have emerged from Spain regarding the future of Erling Haaland are untrue,” their 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.”
For a club as controlled as City, the language was striking. Public, pointed and legalistic. The Premier League champions are not only rejecting any suggestion of a Real-friendly release clause; they are also challenging Riquelme’s right to use Haaland’s image as a campaign prop.
Riquelme did not stop at Haaland. He also vowed to raid City for their midfield metronome.
“He is a great player, in a position where Madrid need to strengthen,” he said of Rodri. “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.”
Two pillars of Pep Guardiola’s side, presented as election pledges.
This is not a routine Real Madrid presidential race. For the first time in 20 years, Perez is not running unopposed. The vote, called by Perez himself to renew his mandate after two seasons without a major trophy and rising discontent at the Santiago Bernabeu, has opened the door to a challenger willing to promise the earth.
Riquelme’s campaign has been built on grand gestures. He has talked of “vast giveaways”, including a plan to construct a members’ city for fans around the club’s training base. He has also floated a dramatic financial incentive: cut annual membership fees by up to 50% if Madrid fail to win the Champions League next season.
The message is clear – if he wins, he spends.
There is another fault line between the two men: the bench. Perez has moved to bring Jose Mourinho back to the Bernabeu, but that appointment can only be rubber-stamped if the incumbent president wins the election. Riquelme has positioned himself firmly against that decision.
His camp has instead dropped heavy hints that Jurgen Klopp is their preferred choice. The former Liverpool manager, currently out of work after leaving Anfield, is the marquee name Riquelme’s team have allowed to hover over the debate.
Asked about Klopp by The Athletic last month, Riquelme said: “Naturally, I would love for profiles of that calibre, and others like them, to coach this club.”
It is the language of a candidate selling a vision as much as a sporting project: Haaland, Rodri, Klopp, a new city for members, cheaper fees. Big names, big promises.
Just under 100,000 Real Madrid members are eligible to vote on Sunday, 7 June. Perez remains the overwhelming favourite, backed by two decades of power and a trophy-laden legacy, even if the last two seasons have fallen flat.
Riquelme, though, has already managed one thing: he has dragged Manchester City, their star striker and their midfield general into the heart of a Madrid election battle. And if City follow through on their threat, the campaign trail could soon run through a courtroom as well as the Bernabeu.
