Manchester City Considers Legal Action Over Haaland Election Claims

Manchester City are weighing up legal action after a Real Madrid presidential candidate publicly vowed 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, used a television appearance on Wednesday to make a bold – and, according to City and the Haaland camp, baseless – election promise.

“He has a release clause and would like to join Real Madrid. If I become president, he will play for Real Madrid,” Riquelme said as he unveiled the Haaland shirt, a stunt designed for maximum impact in an already heated campaign.

The response from Manchester and from Haaland’s representatives was immediate and emphatic.

In a joint statement, Haaland’s father and agent shot down the claims, before City themselves dismissed the talk out of hand.

“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.”

The message was clear: this was not a transfer saga, this was an election ploy – and City are prepared to treat it as such.

Riquelme did not stop at Haaland. He also pledged to bring in City’s midfield metronome Rodri, identifying him as a cornerstone of his vision for a rebuilt Madrid.

“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 only deepen the tension. Publicly discussing rival players, naming agents, and promising signings has turned what might have been routine election bluster into a potential legal and political flashpoint between two of Europe’s superclubs.

Riquelme’s challenge comes at a rare moment of vulnerability for Perez. For the first time in 20 years, the Real Madrid president is not standing unopposed, his authority eroded by two consecutive seasons without a major trophy and growing discontent at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The businessman has built his campaign on grand gestures. He has promised vast giveaways, including a “members’ city” for fans around the club’s training base, and a cut of up to 50% in annual membership fees if Madrid fail to win the Champions League next season. It is a platform designed to tap into frustration and fatigue, and to paint Perez as out of touch with the rank and file.

He has also gone directly at one of Perez’s most controversial decisions: the move to bring Jose Mourinho back to the Bernabeu. Mourinho’s appointment can only be formally confirmed if Perez wins the election, and Riquelme has positioned himself as the man who would take the club in a different direction.

His preferred route? A very different profile in the dugout. Riquelme and his team have repeatedly hinted that former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is their main target. 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.”

The message to the electorate is unmistakable: vote for change, get a new era – with superstar signings and a marquee coach to match.

Just under 100,000 members are eligible to vote in Sunday’s election on 7 June, a ballot called by Perez himself as he seeks a renewed mandate after a stretch of on-field unrest and audible disapproval from the stands.

Perez remains the overwhelming favourite. His track record, his control of the club’s machinery and his long-standing influence give him a commanding position. Yet this campaign has already broken the usual script. A challenger has emerged, the promises have become louder, and now one of Europe’s dominant clubs finds itself threatening legal action over an opponent’s use of its star striker’s name and image.

If this is how the battle for the presidency is being fought, what might the next Real Madrid presidency look like when the votes are finally counted?