Enrique Riquelme said he has already secured agreements with two major international stars if he wins Real Madrid's presidency, turning a club election into a promise of immediate transfer firepower. The 37-year-old challenger to Florentino Perez said the deals are in place, even as he still has not named the players before Sunday’s vote.
That claim is landing now because 100,000 Real Madrid members will choose the club’s next president on Sunday, and Riquelme is trying to turn the race into more than a referendum on Perez’s long rule. He told, as reported by MARCA, that the signings are already secured and that the players are central to the club's short-, medium- and long-term sporting project.
Riquelme did not stop at the transfer pitch. He also said he favours Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta as his coach, while Jose Mourinho’s return has been described as apparently imminent. Together, those names frame a campaign built on a sharp break with caution and a bet that big football identities still move members at the ballot box.
The detail that keeps the pledge from sounding settled is that the two players remain unnamed. Sky Sport Germany reported that the pair could be Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Rodri, and said Real Madrid have already made contact and are trying to get the deal done imminently. Haaland’s City contract is understood to have eight years left, which makes any move far from straightforward even if the election rhetoric is firm.
That is why the promise matters beyond the campaign trail. Real Madrid are run by socios who vote in presidential elections, and Perez has been in charge since 2009 after succeeding Vicente Boluda. After two trophyless seasons on the spin, any challenger who can sell both change at the top and star signings is speaking directly to the club’s mood, even if the scale of the promise invites scrutiny before a single ballot is cast.
For Riquelme, the next step is simple and unforgiving: win Sunday’s vote, then prove the players are real. Until then, his campaign rests on a pledge that has raised expectations across Madrid while leaving the most important names still just out of reach.
