Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme dressed up as Florentino Pérez last night on El Hormiguero. As the current Real Madrid president did in 2000, Riquelme announced a stellar signing and publicly committed to compensating Real Madrid members if that player did not join the white club. In 2000, it goes without saying, Florentino Pérez’s big signing was Luis Figo. Riquelme, in this 2026, announced that he has signed Erling Haaland, Manchester City striker; that the commitment is sealed by a notary and that “if I fail to fulfill any of my electoral promises, I will pay 100% of the fee for the 100,000 Real Madrid members.”
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But Erling Haaland’s entourage does not seem to have been informed. The player’s family, through a statement released by journalist Fabrizio Romano, denied that the agreement exists in those terms. “Erling Haaland’s father, Alfie, and his agent, Rafaela Pimenta, clarify the information about an alleged agreement with Real Madrid. ‘It’s all very entertaining, but it’s NOT true. We wish both candidates the best in the Real Madrid elections.’ Exclusive statement from Alfie Haaland and Rafaela Pimenta,” Romano indicated on X.
To make matters worse, Manchester City has reacted by assuring that everything is false and that they are studying legal action. Through The Athletic and Fabrizio Romano, the English club suggests that “the stories that have emerged from Spain regarding Erling Haaland’s future are FALSE.” Also that “there is NO possibility of this happening and there is no contractual clause that allows it.” Finally, they assure that they are “considering LEGAL ACTION for the use of our player’s image in this context.”
However, Enrique Riquelme reiterated this Thursday at his electoral headquarters to the newspaper AS that “Haaland has a clause.” Riquelme has not wanted to address the denials from the Haalands and has said that “it’s part of the game. Nobody knows it better than you. It also happened with Figo, this is part of football.” He also added that he knows “perfectly that then we have to talk to City, I said it yesterday. The circumstances are different, Rodri’s and Haaland’s, but we have to talk to City. We have maximum respect for the club. And from there, work on that side. We have everything so clear and so structured that I know perfectly well that, if I am president of Real Madrid, these two players will play for Real Madrid,” he concluded.
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Florentino Pérez, by the way, also participated in some way in El Hormiguero and in La Isla de las Tentaciones. His candidacy hired two advertisements —one of them was broadcast during Riquelme’s interview on Antena 3— in which he announced the return of José Mourinho to Real Madrid if he remains president. To leave no doubt, Mou himself appeared in the advertisement wearing the white shirt.
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Riquelme, also yesterday, had announced the return to the white club of Raúl González as sporting director and Fernando Hierro as head of the academy. In this case, everything is very entertaining and also true, because none of those involved has denied the agreement with the candidate.
