Erling Haaland has long been linked with a move to Real Madrid, and a move appears to be just a pipe dream, despite one of the Spanish club’s presidential candidates vowing to sign him.
Erling Haaland is rumored to be moving to Real Madrid (Image: Getty Images)
Manchester City have threatened legal action after Enrique Riquelme claimed Real Madrid would sign Erling Haaland if he won the presidential election. The Spanish giants are currently in the process of selecting a new president.
Club members will choose between longtime president Florentino Perez, 79, and Riquelme in a special vote on Sunday. In the run-up to this vote, the latter had guaranteed to complete the deal with Manchester City forward Haaland.
“We have signed a guarantee that if we break our commitments regarding any of these players, we will pay 100 percent of next season’s dues,” Riquelme said. “Haaland has a release clause in his contract and wants to go to Madrid.”
City are now speaking out, but they are not taking kindly to Riquelme’s claims. A City spokesperson said in a statement: “The stories coming out of Spain about Erling Haaland’s future are false. There is no chance of this happening and there is no contractual clause that would allow it to happen. We are considering legal action against the use of the player’s image in this context.”
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City’s statement came after equally strong comments from the Norwegian striker’s representatives. “These are all very funny stories, but they are not true. We wish both candidates the best of luck in the Madrid elections,” his agent Rafaela Pimenta and his father Alfie Haaland said in a joint statement.
Haaland has been regularly linked with a move to Real Madrid since his time at the Etihad Stadium, and it is claimed that he could consider triggering the release clause in his contract. But the striker underlined his commitment to City last January by signing a new nine-and-a-half-year contract.
Haaland, 25, joined the club from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 and has since gone on to score an impressive 162 goals, 38 of which have come this season. He is not the only Man City star to sign Riquelme this summer if he is successful.
Spanish midfielder Rodri is also on the shortlist, with Riquelme confirming that talks have already taken place over a move to the Bernabéu. “He’s a great player and he’s in a position that Madrid need to strengthen,” he said.
Rafaela Pimenta reveals about Erling Haaland’s future (Image: Getty Images)
“We have spoken to his agent. We have to respect his club, but if I were president he would play for Madrid. I will do everything I can.”
However, Rodri remained silent on the possibility of a deal, suggesting he would clarify his future after the World Cup. “With the World Cup coming up, my responsibility is to stay focused. Anything related to my future will wait until after the World Cup,” he said at a press conference.
He added: “When a player is nearing the final stages of a contract, it’s normal for names to come up. I’m very calm and I know exactly where I stand. I can say that maybe if it hadn’t been for the World Cup things might have been different now.”
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