Manchester City Weigh Action Over Braut Haaland Claim
Manchester City are considering legal action after Enrique Riquelme claimed braut haaland had a clause that would let him join Real Madrid. The dispute reached a new level on Thursday when City said there was no such clause and rejected the transfer talk outright.
Riquelme’s Madrid shirt claim
Riquelme went public during a TV appearance, holding up a Madrid shirt with Haaland’s name on the back and saying the striker wanted to come to Madrid. On Wednesday, he said, "Haaland has a release clause and he wants to come to Madrid".
He added another pledge aimed at the same election fight, saying, "He’s a top player, a Ballon d’Or winner in a position where Madrid needs to strengthen. If I become president, Rodri will play for Real Madrid, with all due respect to City."
The timing matters because Riquelme is standing against Florentino Pérez in Sunday’s presidential elections, and the Haaland claim landed in the middle of that campaign. Haaland agreed a record nine-and-a-half-year deal in January 2025, so any public suggestion of an exit cut against the contract City say is in place.
City reject the clause story
City responded with a direct denial on Thursday: "The stories which have emerged from Spain regarding the future of Erling Haaland are untrue. 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 leaves the issue on two tracks at once. City are not only rejecting the transfer claim, they are also focusing on the use of their player’s image after Riquelme displayed the shirt and linked it to his election pitch.
Haaland’s father, Alfie, and agent, Rafaela Pimenta, also pushed back, saying, "All very entertaining but not true". Their denial took the same line as City and closed off the idea that the claim had any support from Haaland’s camp.
Rodri, Riquelme and the vote
Riquelme did not stop with Haaland. He also promised that Rodri would leave Manchester City for Real Madrid, even as the midfielder said on Monday, "I’m very calm, I know exactly where I stand, and I’ll tell you that perhaps if there hadn’t been a World Cup, things might be different."
Rodri’s contract expires next summer, which keeps his future in play as City prepare for a summer shaped by more than one contract story. The club has also had an initial bid for Elliot Anderson rejected by Nottingham Forest, adding another layer to the squad picture around Pep Guardiola and Hugo Viana.
For City, the immediate issue is simple: they say Haaland is not available, they dispute the clause claim, and they are weighing legal action over how his image was used. For Madrid’s election, the bigger test is whether Riquelme’s pledge about one of football’s most valuable forwards plays as bold campaigning or crosses into a dispute that now sits on City’s desk.
