Erling Haaland’s camp has responded to Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme’s claim that he has the Norwegian striker signed if he becomes the Spanish giant’s leader.
Riquelme will go the ballot box on June 7, in an attempt to dethrone Florentino Perez and end his 23-year reign across two different tenures.
Perez himself has already announced that Jose Mourinho will become the new head coach at the Bernabeu should he continue.
Appearing on popular Spanish television program El Hormiguero on Wednesday night, Riquelme promised the City number 9 and Rodri to Madridistas should they vote him in.
Holding up a Los Blancos shirt with Haaland’s name and the same number, Riquelme said: “If I fail to deliver on any of my promises regarding these players, I’ve signed a guarantee that, in the event of any breach, I will pay 100% of all the members’ dues for the following season.”
Haaland’s camp has already responded to Real Madrid candidate Riquelme’s claim
As Riquelme appeared on television, radio station Cadena SER contacted Haaland’s agency, which since Mino Raiola’s passing has been headed by Rafaela Pimenta.
They received an official statement from both the Brazilian and the player’s father, Alfe.
“It’s all very entertaining, but none of it is true. We wish both candidates the best in the Real Madrid elections,” the statement read.
Manchester City aren’t happy with Real Madrid either
MARCA has reached out to City, which stated: “The stories that have emerged from Spain regarding Erling Haaland’s future are false. There is no possibility of this [his departure from the Etihad] happening, and there is no contractual clause that allows it.”
In addition to that, the Premier League serial winner is also threatening to take the matter to the courts. “We are considering legal action for the use of our player’s image in this context,” the Abu Dhabi-backed behemoth added.
How would Kylian Mbappe and Haaland work together at Real Madrid?
Even if Riquelme did become president and his Haaland claim were true, it’d be interesting to see how the target man would pair with Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe has already had to adapt to a central striker role in the Spanish capital, so that he and left winger Vinicius Jr. can line up in the same XI.
And while a logical explanation would be to put Mbappe back on his preferred flank, that would then squeeze out the Brazilian, who is still yet to extend a contract that expires in June, 2027.
Fielding two strikers might also be a solution, but that would create an imbalanced Real Madrid side if both Mbappe and Vinicius played down the left to some extent and didn’t track back.
