It’s Florentino Perez, the incumbent Real Madrid president, against another rich man, Enrique Riquelme. The battle is for the position of club president of the world’s largest club. The latter made waves that washed all the way onto the beach in the sky-blue part of Manchester, with statements such as “Haaland wants to go to Real Madrid and there is a buyout clause. As president, I ensure this”. Manchester City responded immediately, but this bounced off the ambitious presidential candidate.
First to City’s response: “The stories that have emerged from Spain about Erling Haaland’s future are not true. There is no possibility of that happening, and there is no contractual clause that makes it possible. We are considering legal action due to the use of our player’s image in this context,” a City spokesperson said, according to The Athletic.
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A few hours later, the answer came from an offensive Riquelme, wrapped in politician language.
-He is a big name, someone we have been working with for a while. You have to remember that this is a candidacy, a choice. Either one of us can win, or the other can win. I understand that his supporters have to defend and protect the player, and so does his club. It seems completely normal to me, but I am very happy to be able to say that big names like Haaland – if I become president – will play for Real Madrid,” the presidential candidate begins in an interview with AS.
Has Haaland signed?
“More than me, it’s Real Madrid who convinces Haaland. The best players in the world want to come and play here if circumstances allow. Real Madrid also competes with other big clubs in the world – clubs with enormous talent in every way, clubs that can win titles – but no club has the history of Real Madrid,” Riquelme continues.
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However, the Real Madrid candidate does not want to go into whether Haaland has actually signed for a possible transfer.
“I can’t give more details because the goal is not to put people in a difficult situation. What I’m saying is that I think it’s normal for the club to protect the player because they’re at that club, and that has to be respected. What I am saying is that I am very confident that I will not risk my professional and personal reputation – and my reputation as a member – as a 37-year-old, especially with the guarantee I have given, by not fulfilling this. I have already said that if I fail in one of them (picking up Rodri is the second promise), I will personally pay the full membership fee for all 100,000 members, and that has been confirmed,” concludes Enrique Riquelme.
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