Real Madrid’s unlikely early hero was offered to Barcelona first

Real Madrid have found an unexpected early hero in Carlos Espi and, according to a major revelation, the young striker could have been wearing Barcelona colours instead.

Journalist Sique Rodriguez, as relayed by SPORT, has revealed that Espi was offered to Barcelona before making his move to Real Madrid. 

The Blaugrana reportedly considered him a good player but ultimately decided that activating his €25 million release clause represented too great a financial risk.

“Carlos Espí was offered to Barça, who consider him a good player. 

“They rejected it, among other reasons, because they were not willing to pay €25 million for someone who was not going to be a starter,” explained Sique Rodriguez.

At Barcelona, Espi would not have arrived as an automatic starter, making such a sizeable investment difficult to justify. 

Carlos Espi was offered to Barcelona. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Real Madrid, though, have begun to see a return from a player who arrived with considerably less fanfare than many of their other summer additions.

Instead of spending heavily on Espi, Barcelona placed their faith in Hamza Abdelkarim, who is viewed as a younger and more affordable alternative for the centre-forward role.

“The bet is Hamza Abdelkarim. He has cost €1.5 million; he is very young and they consider that he can play the role of plan B as a striker. 

“A bet of €1.5 million can be made; one of €25 million is riskier,” Rodríguez added.

Simply put, it was a decision based on financial risk and squad planning rather than a rejection of Espi’s talent.

Espi has developed a great relationship with Mourinho. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

At Real Madrid, Espi initially appeared to be one of the quieter additions of the summer. 

Signed to replace Gonzalo García following his move to Fulham, the striker was expected to provide depth rather than challenge for a regular starting place.

Notably, Espi announced himself by scoring the late winner against Espanyol, securing a 2-1 victory and giving Real Madrid their first win of the 2026/27 season. 

At the same time, the youngster has also built a strong relationship with Jose Mourinho, who has spoken warmly about his new striker. 

Sure, Espi is certainly not expected to become an automatic starter, but he has already shown that he can influence important matches, and Real Madrid have been fortunate enough not to see him move to Camp Nou instead.