Enrique Riquelme Tegaskan Rencana Rekrut Erling Haaland dan Rodri

Kandidat Presiden Real Madrid Enrique Riquelme menegaskan komitmennya untuk mendatangkan duo bintang Manchester City, Erling Haaland dan Rodri, ke Santiago Bernabeu jika dirinya memenangkan pemilihan klub pada Kamis, 4 Juni 2026.

Pengusaha berusia 37 tahun tersebut menolak mundur dari klaimnya meskipun mendapat bantahan keras dari pihak perwakilan pemain. Riquelme menyatakan bahwa dirinya telah memiliki peta jalan yang matang untuk merealisasikan transfer besar tersebut.

Ambisi Riquelme didasarkan pada keberadaan klausul rilis dalam kontrak Haaland. Rencana ini menjadi pilar utama dalam kampanye elektoralnya untuk menantang petahana Florentino Perez.

"Haaland has a clause. It is a great name, which has been worked on for some time. You have to keep in mind that this is a candidacy; these are elections. One can win or the other can win. I understand that they have to take care of the player and protect him within the club and within his team. That seems normal to me. But I am very happy to be able to announce that great figures, if I am president, like Haaland, will play for Real Madrid." kata Enrique Riquelme, Kandidat Presiden Real Madrid seperti dilansir dari Goal.com.

Pernyataan tersebut muncul setelah agen Haaland, Rafaela Pimenta, dan sang ayah, Alfie Haaland, merilis pernyataan bersama yang menyebut klaim transfer itu tidak benar. Riquelme menyamakan situasi pertikaian publik ini dengan transfer kontroversial Luis Figo dari Barcelona pada tahun 2000 silam.

"Well, it's part of the game. Better than you, nobody knows it. It also happened with Figo; this is part of football. Protecting the player, we had spoken before and after, also with Pablo (Barquero), Rodri's representative. I know perfectly well that then you have to talk to City. They are different circumstances, Rodri's than Haaland's, but you have to talk to City. We have maximum respect for the club." ujar Enrique Riquelme, Kandidat Presiden Real Madrid.

Sebagai bentuk keseriusan kepada para anggota pemilik suara Real Madrid, Riquelme bahkan mempertaruhkan kekayaan pribadinya. Ia berjanji akan menanggung biaya keanggotaan seluruh basis pemilih klub jika ia gagal memenuhi janji transfer tersebut.

"To convince the members? Apart from what I said, I put a guarantee, a personal guarantee that if I failed in any of those promises, I would personally pay the fee of the 100,000 Madrid members (around €15 million)," jelas Enrique Riquelme, Kandidat Presiden Real Madrid.

Ia menambahkan bahwa dirinya tidak akan mempertaruhkan citra personal maupun profesionalnya jika tidak memercayai proposal yang diajukannya sendiri.

"I cannot ask for the member's trust if I do not trust the proposal I have myself. I'm not going to burn my personal or professional image, nor as a Madridista or as a member, by bringing one or the other." sambung Enrique Riquelme, Kandidat Presiden Real Madrid.

Di sisi lain, Riquelme mengakui bahwa negosiasi formal dengan pihak Manchester City tetap diperlukan untuk menyelesaikan proses kepindahan kedua pemain. Tim kampanyenya mengklaim telah mengirimkan pesan pribadi kepada juara bertahan Liga Inggris tersebut guna mencegah kesalahpahaman akibat pernyataan di media.

"It's an entertainment program. Football is football; this is part of football. We must continue talking, maximum respect to City; we must sit down. The player has a clause; he has a contract, and this Wednesday we already sent a message in private to City. Because even due to a language problem, they may understand something else, but there is clarity." tutur Enrique Riquelme, Kandidat Presiden Real Madrid.