Manchester City Considers Suing Real Madrid Presidential Hopeful Over Erling Haaland Claims

Manchester City and the camp of star striker Erling Haaland have issued sharp denials and are weighing legal options after a Real Madrid presidential candidate used the Norwegian's image to bolster his election campaign. The dispute erupted on June 3, 2026, when Enrique Riquelme, who is challenging Florentino Perez for the Real Madrid presidency, appeared on the popular Spanish TV show El Hormiguero. During the appearance, he was presented with a Real Madrid shirt bearing Haaland's name and number 9, and he publicly claimed the striker wanted to join the club and had a contractual release clause that would facilitate the move .

Riquelme's televised stunt immediately drew a furious multi-front response. Manchester City issued a strongly worded statement flatly denying any possibility of a transfer, declaring the stories "false" and confirming no release clause exists . More significantly, the Premier League champions stated they were "considering legal action for the use of our player's image in this context" . This was quickly echoed by Haaland's father, Alfie, and his agent, Rafaela Pimenta, who dismissed the candidate's claims as untrue, with Pimenta characterizing the remarks as "entertaining but not true" . City officials believe a political campaign cannot feature their top player without authorization .