Erling Haaland's representatives and Manchester City have both firmly denied claims from Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme that the Norwegian striker will join the Spanish giants this summer. The denial came with a threat of legal action—rarely a sign that a campaign story is helping its teller.
Riquelme made the claim during an appearance on the popular Spanish chat show El Hormiguero, promising that club legend Raúl González would be his manager, Rodri would be signed, and Haaland would follow. He even offered to pay the membership fees of every Real Madrid fan—about $23.3 million (€20 million)—if elected and unable to deliver those signings. It was the same playbook Florentino Pérez used in 2000 when he promised Luís Figo, who had publicly denied any commitment to Real Madrid. Figo left Barcelona for Real Madrid that summer. The pattern was clear; the denial was not.
Hours after Riquelme's television appearance, Haaland's father, Alfie, and agent, Rafaela Pimenta, issued a statement. "All very entertaining but not true," it read, according to Fabrizio Romano. "We wish all the best for both candidates in the Real Madrid elections." Manchester City were quicker still: "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."
Pérez, the 79-year-old incumbent, responded with the kind of quiet amusement that only comes from having survived exactly this before. "Everything Riquelme says is like the TV show Everything is a Lie," he told El Español. "He says he's coming to save Real Madrid and then he has to take out a loan at 54% interest for his company."
The difference between Pérez's Figo promise and Riquelme's Haaland declaration is worth noting: Pérez managed to get Figo's representatives to legally commit their client's future, apparently in the overconfident belief he would never actually win the election. Haaland's team never fell into that trap. The Manchester City striker's contract runs until 2034—a term that makes the word "promise" feel slightly optimistic from the start.
Real Madrid members will vote soon. They can elect Riquelme and test his resolve, or they can stick with Pérez, who is expected to win and follow through on hiring José Mourinho while pursuing Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries. Either way, the story says more about the politics of a club than the transfer market. That may be the only part no one is denying.