Real Madrid presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme told ESPN that “Rodri is the type of player who should be playing” for the club, amid rumours linking the Manchester City midfielder to the Bernabéu.
Riquelme claimed in recent days that he has verbal agreements with two international stars if he wins the election and even said that one of them will play at the World Cup with Spain.
The 37-year-old did not confirm whether one of those signings is Rodri, but was effusive in his praise for the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner.
“I love that player, he’s a fantastic player and the profile of player Real Madrid should have and who should be playing for the club,” Riquelme told ESPN.
“But obviously he’s at another club and we have to respect that. Rodri is the type of player who should be playing for Real Madrid. But we’ll talk about that from Saturday onwards.”
The CEO of Cox Energy, who is also in the midst of his campaign for the Madrid presidency, announced that he would begin discussing the sporting aspects of his project this week: “Starting Saturday, we will begin with the sporting side and give specific names.”
Florentino Pérez, his rival in the elections which will take place on Sunday, June 7, won the presidency in 2000 after promising to sign Luis Figo, who made the move from Barcelona for a world-record fee.
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When asked by ESPN if he was also preparing a signing of that level, Riquelme replied: “Some of the players I have agreements with are deal-breakers, without a doubt. People should pay attention because they are going to please and excite the fans.”
Regarding the manager, Riquelme offered the following clues, without revealing the coach’s country of origin: “We have a coach signed. Let’s not talk about nationality, let’s talk about experience.
“We’re not going to experiment. We will bring in a proven coach and technical staff, who have never coached Real Madrid before, and I’m sure Real Madrid will be very excited to have them here.”
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