Manchester City Considers Legal Action Over Haaland Shirt Incident

Manchester City are exploring legal options after a Real Madrid presidential candidate publicly promised to sign Erling Haaland and brandished a Madrid shirt with the striker’s name on live television.

Enrique Riquelme, a 37-year-old renewable energy tycoon bidding to unseat Florentino Perez, appeared on Spanish TV on Wednesday and produced a Real Madrid jersey with “Haaland” on the back. He then claimed the Manchester City forward had a release clause and a desire to move to the Bernabeu.

“He has a release clause and would like to join Real Madrid. If I become president, he will play for Real Madrid,” Riquelme said.

The response from Haaland’s camp and from City was immediate and emphatic.

In a rare joint statement, Haaland’s father and agent dismissed the claims outright, before City moved to shut the story down completely.

“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.”

That last line changes the temperature. This is no longer just election-season bluster in Madrid; it is now a matter potentially headed for lawyers and image-rights specialists, with City determined to protect one of the most valuable assets in world football.

Riquelme did not stop at Haaland. He also pledged to go after another pillar of Pep Guardiola’s side, midfielder 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.”

For City, those words land like a direct challenge. For Real Madrid’s electorate, they are part of a wider sales pitch from the first serious challenger Perez has faced in two decades.

A rare contest at the Bernabeu

Riquelme’s candidacy has injected an unfamiliar dose of uncertainty into Real Madrid politics. Perez has ruled the club with near-total control, standing unopposed in presidential elections for 20 years. This time, after two seasons without a major trophy, discontent in the stands at the Santiago Bernabeu has opened the door to a contest.

The 37-year-old businessman has built his campaign on grand promises and bold gestures. Among them: a “members’ city” for fans around the club’s training base and a pledge to slash annual membership fees by up to 50% if Madrid fail to win the Champions League next season.

It is an offer tailored to a restless fanbase that has grown used to silverware and spectacle. It is also an unmistakable swipe at Perez’s stewardship, suggesting that failure on the pitch should carry a financial consequence off it.

Riquelme has also drawn a sharp line on the club’s next coach. He opposes Perez’s decision to bring Jose Mourinho back to the Bernabeu, a move that can only be ratified if the incumbent president wins the vote.

On the other side of that argument stands a very different name.

Riquelme and his team have strongly hinted that Jurgen Klopp is their preferred choice to take over in the dugout. The former Liverpool manager, currently out of work after stepping away from Anfield, looms as the marquee coaching figurehead for a potential new era.

When asked about Klopp in an interview with The Athletic last month, Riquelme did not hide his admiration. “Naturally, I would love for profiles of that calibre, and others like them, to coach this club,” he said.

The message is clear: a vote for Riquelme is a vote for a different Madrid – new coach, new stars, new perks for members.

High stakes on and off the pitch

Just under 100,000 club members will decide which vision they prefer when they head to the polls on Sunday, 7 June. Perez called the vote himself, aiming to secure a renewed mandate after a period of on-field unrest and open dissent in the stands.

He remains the overwhelming favourite. His record, his power base, and his role in reshaping the modern Real Madrid all carry enormous weight. But the very fact that a challenger has emerged, and that the campaign has spilled into public promises about players under contract elsewhere, shows how charged this moment has become.

Riquelme’s willingness to put Haaland and Rodri at the centre of his campaign has now dragged Manchester City into the political theatre of Madrid. The Premier League champions have made it clear they will not allow their players’ names and images to be used as election props without consequence.

As the ballots are prepared in Spain, City’s legal team prepares its own response. The question now is whether this is remembered as just another wild election pledge in Madrid, or the moment the transfer-politics circus finally crossed a line.