Manchester City is considering a lawsuit - and not against a rival club, but against a candidate for the presidency of Real Madrid. Enrique Riquelme, a businessman running in Real's elections, pulled out a Madrid shirt with Erling Haaland's name and the number nine on Spanish television, and declared that the Norwegian has a buyout clause and wants to come to the „Santiago Bernabéu.” City sharply denies it: no such clause exists.

Riquelme went even further - he promised to refund the membership fees of the club's 100,000 members if he doesn't bring Haaland next season. A classic campaign move: promise big, pay if you lose, and until then the headlines are yours. Haaland's agents reacted quickly and drily, describing the claims as „very funny, but untrue,” and wished both candidates good luck.

The facts are on City's side. Haaland signed a long-term contract in January 2025 that ties him to the club until 2034 - one of the central figures in the long-term plan, despite the uncertainty since Pep Guardiola decided to leave this summer. Riquelme, incidentally, also promised to bring Rodri to Madrid, a player City keeps repeating it has no intention of selling.

The election race at Real is a circus anyway. Florentino Pérez remains a huge favourite to keep his position, has already announced the return of José Mourinho to the bench if re-elected, and the club is preparing to sign Ibrahima Konaté from Liverpool and Denzel Dumfries from Inter. In that noise, Riquelme reached for the biggest name he doesn't have - and City now says it won't leave the use of Haaland's image for someone else's campaign unanswered.