Manchester City Considers Legal Action Over Haaland and Rodri Claims
Manchester City are exploring legal options after a Real Madrid presidential candidate publicly paraded an Erling Haaland shirt on live television and claimed the striker would join him at the Bernabeu if he wins power.
Enrique Riquelme, a 37-year-old renewable energy tycoon attempting to unseat Florentino Perez, appeared on Spanish TV on Wednesday holding a Real Madrid jersey with Haaland’s name on the back. He then delivered the kind of promise that instantly reverberates across Europe.
“He has a release clause and would like to join Real Madrid. If I become president, he will play for Real Madrid,” Riquelme declared.
The response was immediate and fierce.
Haaland’s camp – his father and his agent – issued a joint statement flatly denying the claim, before Manchester City moved to shut the story down and signal they are prepared to fight.
“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.”
In a single TV segment, a presidential pitch turned into a potential legal battle, with City determined to protect both their star striker and their control over his image and contract narrative.
Riquelme did not stop at Haaland. He also placed a target on another pillar of Pep Guardiola’s side: Rodri.
“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.”
Those words drag another City cornerstone into the political theatre of a Real Madrid election, with the Premier League champions now watching as two of their most important players are used as campaign material.
This is no routine vote in Madrid. For the first time in 20 years, Florentino Perez faces a genuine challenger. After two seasons without a major trophy, unrest in the stands at the Santiago Bernabeu has opened a narrow door, and Riquelme is trying to blast it wide open with bold promises and big names.
His campaign has been built on largesse and spectacle. He has pledged a “members’ city” for Real Madrid fans around the club’s training base, a physical monument to the socio culture that underpins the institution. He has also promised to slash annual membership fees by up to 50% if the team fail to win the Champions League next season, tying supporters’ wallets directly to the club’s European performance.
Riquelme is not only challenging Perez on transfers and infrastructure. He is also taking aim at the club’s managerial future.
Perez has moved to bring Jose Mourinho back to the Bernabeu, but that appointment can only be formalised if he secures victory in the election. Riquelme has made clear he opposes that decision and has pointed instead towards a very different profile.
He and his campaign team have hinted that Jurgen Klopp, fresh from his departure from Liverpool, is their preferred option for the dugout. When asked about Klopp in an interview with The Athletic last month, Riquelme said: “Naturally, I would love for profiles of that calibre, and others like them, to coach this club.”
In other words, his Madrid would be built on blockbuster signings and a marquee coach, sold to the electorate as a sharp break from a president who has dominated the club for two decades.
Just under 100,000 Real Madrid members are eligible to vote on Sunday, 7 June. Perez himself called the election, seeking a renewed mandate after a period of on-pitch frustration and rising discontent in the stands. He remains the overwhelming favourite.
Yet in trying to close ranks around his authority, Perez has opened a stage for Riquelme, who is now using Haaland, Rodri and Klopp as central props in his pitch.
City’s threat of legal action signals they have no intention of letting that go unchallenged. With the election looming, the question is stark: will Madrid’s presidential race reshape the transfer landscape, or simply leave a trail of angry clubs and agents in its wake?
