Manchester City players Erling Haaland and Rodri are both subjects of reported transfer interest from Real Madrid this summer
Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme has lost the election to Florentino Perez despite promising to sign Erling Haaland, meaning the Spanish club are unlikely to continue their hostile approach for the striker.
Riquelme said during his campaign that Haaland “has a release clause and would like to join Real Madrid”, but Manchester City called the claim “untrue” and said they are “considering legal action”. The player’s father, Alf-Inge, and his agent, Rafaela Pimenta, also released a joint statement saying it is “not true”.
The businessman also claimed to have spoken with Rodri‘s agent, Pablo Barquero, about a move. Riquelme said: “If I’m president, he will play for Madrid, I will do everything possible.”
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Perez, however, remains in power after winning 64.8% of the popular vote compared to his opponent’s 35.2%. He has promised to make a club-record offer of at least £130million for a player on Tuesday, but that is understood to be Michael Olise, rather than Haaland or Rodri.
City strongly responded to the speculation about their striker’s future. Their statement says: “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.”
Haaland Snr and Pimenta also clarified the situation, saying: “All very entertaining but NOT true. We wish all the best for both candidates in the Real Madrid elections.”
There was little response from City or his agent to the claims about Rodri. However, these comments came days after the player said he would not be focusing on his future until after the World Cup.
He said after joining up with the Spain national team: “I understand there might be some noise, but for me, I’m obviously going to focus on the World Cup. I’m not going to dedicate my time to that, and then after the World Cup, let’s see.”
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Rodri will be in the final year of his City contract by then. The club have made their midfielder multiple offers of an extension, but he has yet to agree to a new deal, despite internal confidence that Rodri will remain.
Perez reportedly admires the player, but when asked about those claims in March, he said: “I don’t know – they don’t talk to me directly. They’d talk to my agent.”
Despite previously playing for Atletico Madrid, Rodri did not rule out representing their rivals. He said: “There have been many players who’ve gone down that path. Not immediately, but over time. For me, you can’t turn down the best clubs in the world.”
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