As of 12 September 2026, Erling Haaland has not joined Real Madrid, and neither club has announced an agreement or a formal transfer.
Haaland remains a Manchester City player under contract until the summer of 2034. The major claim linking him with an immediate move to Madrid came from Enrique Riquelme during his campaign for the Real Madrid presidency. Manchester City, Haaland’s agent and his father all rejected that claim.
How the 2026 Haaland claim began
The most prominent version of the story emerged on 3 June 2026, during Real Madrid’s presidential election campaign.
Riquelme, who was challenging Florentino Pérez for the presidency, appeared on the Spanish television programme El Hormiguero holding a Real Madrid shirt bearing Haaland’s name. He claimed that the striker wanted to move to Madrid and that a clause in his Manchester City contract would make the transfer possible.
He also promised to sign Haaland if he won the election. The comments generated extensive coverage, but they were campaign statements rather than confirmation of negotiations between Manchester City and Real Madrid. No announcement from either club accompanied the claim.
Manchester City rejected the story
Manchester City responded on 4 June and described the reports coming from Spain as untrue. The club stated that there was no contractual clause enabling the proposed move and said it was considering legal action over the use of Haaland’s image in that context.
Haaland’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, and his father, Alfie Haaland, also rejected Riquelme’s account. Their response reinforced the distinction between a candidate’s transfer promise and an agreement involving the player or his club.
The sequence of the claim and the responses was documented by Reuters in its report on Manchester City’s denial.
Haaland’s Manchester City contract runs until 2034
Haaland signed a new long-term Manchester City contract on 17 January 2025. The official club announcement confirmed that the agreement would keep him at City until the summer of 2034.
A contract does not make a future transfer impossible. Manchester City could choose to negotiate with another club, or the contractual position could change later. However, the length of the agreement means Real Madrid cannot simply sign Haaland without an applicable contractual mechanism or Manchester City’s cooperation.
Claims that a specific release clause presently allows Madrid to complete the transfer should therefore be treated cautiously. City directly denied that such a clause enabled Riquelme’s proposal.
Riquelme did not win the Real Madrid election
The electoral context changed shortly after the comments were made. Florentino Pérez defeated Riquelme in the presidential vote held on 7 June 2026 and secured another term in charge of Real Madrid.
The official election result published by Real Madrid confirmed Pérez’s victory. Consequently, Riquelme’s promise to sign Haaland did not become part of the club’s administration or an active transfer plan.
This does not settle what Real Madrid might decide in a future transfer window. It does, however, remove the immediate premise behind the June story: the candidate who made the promise did not gain control of the club.
Why the Real Madrid links continue
Haaland’s scoring record, profile and long-term value make him an obvious subject for transfer speculation. Real Madrid are regularly associated with leading players, and earlier reports linked the club with Haaland before he moved from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City in 2022.
That background makes new stories appear plausible, even when they do not contain evidence of a bid or negotiation. A reported interest, a former player’s prediction or an election promise is not equivalent to contact between the clubs.
Attention surrounding Haaland also increased during the 2026 World Cup, giving transfer reports a larger audience. His performances and public profile may explain why the story keeps returning, but they do not confirm that a deal is being discussed.
By 12 September 2026, Haaland was still playing for Manchester City and had scored twice in the club’s Champions League victory over Porto four days earlier. The available evidence therefore supports only a limited position: Real Madrid may continue to be linked with Haaland, but an imminent transfer has not been confirmed.