Manchester City Considers Legal Action Over Haaland Claims

Manchester City have moved from irritation to open confrontation after Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme used Erling Haaland as a campaign prop on Spanish television – and claimed a contract clause would deliver the striker to the Bernabéu if he wins Sunday’s election.

Riquelme appeared on the popular show El Hormiguero holding up a Madrid shirt with Haaland’s name on the back, before confidently stating that the Norwegian not only wanted to join Real but had a release clause that would make the deal straightforward.

“Haaland has a release clause and he wants to come to Madrid,” Riquelme said, as he set out his grand vision to unseat Florentino Pérez, the long‑standing and all‑powerful incumbent.

City, who tied Haaland to a record nine-and-a-half-year contract in January 2025, did not bother to hide their anger. By Thursday, they had issued a strongly worded statement and were openly talking about lawyers.

“The stories which have emerged from Spain regarding the future of Erling Haaland are untrue,” the club said. “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 is key. For City, this is not just another transfer rumour. A presidential candidate for Real Madrid used their star striker’s image, shirt and name on a national TV show to bolster his own campaign, while declaring publicly that Haaland wanted to leave and that a contractual mechanism existed to facilitate it. City insist that clause does not exist. They are prepared to fight to prove it.

Haaland’s camp did not sit quietly either. His father, Alfie, and his agent, Rafaela Pimenta, issued a joint denial that cut through the noise with a mixture of amusement and finality.

“All very entertaining but not true,” they said. “We wish all the best for both candidates in the Real Madrid elections.”

No ambiguity. No softening of the message. Just a flat rejection of Riquelme’s narrative.

Riquelme, though, is building his entire challenge to Pérez on big, headline-grabbing promises. Haaland was only half the pitch. The other half cut straight to the heart of City’s midfield.

He also pledged to take Rodri to Madrid, casting the Spain international as the cornerstone of his proposed new era and identifying him as the profile the 15-times European champions are missing.

“He’s a top player, a Ballon d’Or winner in a position where Madrid needs to strengthen,” Riquelme said. “If I become president, Rodri will play for Real Madrid, with all due respect to City.”

The “respect” was polite. The promise was anything but. Riquelme went further, staking his own credibility – and his wallet – on delivering the two marquee signings.

“I don’t have the track record of Florentino – I’ve never been president,” he admitted. “That’s why I’m committing myself to the two players I’ve announced, backed by a personal notarised guarantee. If I fail to deliver, I will pay 100% of the annual dues of Madrid’s 100,000 members.”

It is a spectacular pledge: fail to sign Haaland and Rodri, and he would personally cover a year’s membership fees for the entire Real Madrid fanbase. The kind of promise that electrifies a campaign. The kind that also drags other clubs and players into the political arena, whether they like it or not.

At City, the timing of all this is delicate. Pep Guardiola is leaving after a decade that has reshaped the club and the Premier League. That sort of departure always prompts questions. Who stays loyal to the project? Who sees an opportunity – or a reason – to move on?

Rodri, at 29 and with his contract running down to its final year, inevitably finds himself at the centre of that debate. On Monday, speaking about his own future, he struck a calm tone, but one that hinted at how much the wider football calendar has shaped recent years.

“I’m very calm, I know exactly where I stand,” he said, “and I’ll tell you that perhaps if there hadn’t been a World Cup, things might be different.”

His deal expires next summer. Any club with Madrid’s resources and ambition will be watching that situation closely, whether or not Riquelme ends up anywhere near the president’s office.

For now, though, City are fighting on a different front: not over transfer fees or contract lengths, but over image rights, truth, and the boundaries of electioneering in Spanish football.

While the political theatre rages in Madrid, City’s recruitment department continues its own work, far from the TV studios. Their first move of the window has already been rebuffed.

The club have seen an initial bid for Elliot Anderson turned down by Nottingham Forest. Anderson, rated as one of England’s most promising midfielders and in line to start the national team’s opening World Cup game against Croatia on 17 June, has rapidly become one of the most coveted young players in Europe.

Forest’s stance is clear. Owner Evangelos Marinakis is understood to value the 23-year-old at around £100m – the same figure City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in August 2021, still the club’s record fee.

Hugo Viana, City’s sporting director, is expected to return with an improved offer. City rarely walk away from a target they truly believe in, and Anderson fits the club’s long-term profile: young, technically gifted, and ready to operate at the highest level.

So City find themselves in a curious moment. On one side, a presidential hopeful in Madrid is using their stars as political capital. On the other, they are trying to prise away one of the Premier League’s brightest young talents at a price that underlines how far the market has shifted.

Guardiola is going. Haaland is under contract until the middle of the next decade. Rodri has a decision to make within the next 12 months. Anderson may or may not arrive for a nine-figure fee.

The legal letters, the campaign promises, the transfer bids – they all point to the same question: as the Guardiola era closes, how fiercely can City hold their ground while trying to build the next one?