Barcelona transfer news: Why Barca rejected £21m Carlos Espi before Real Madrid move

Barcelona reportedly had the opportunity to sign Carlos Espi before the 21-year-old striker joined Real Madrid, but the Catalan giants decided that a €25m (£21m) deal did not make sense for the role they had in mind.

Espi was offered to Barcelona during the summer transfer window after impressing for Levante in the 2025-26 campaign.

The forward had scored 13 goals in 27 appearances and was viewed as a potential option following Robert Lewandowski's departure.

However, Barcelona ultimately chose not to pursue the deal.

According to journalist Sique Rodriguez, the club rated Espi but were unwilling to spend €25m on a player who was not expected to start regularly or receive significant minutes.

Real Madrid then moved for the striker later in the summer, and Espi has already made an impact under Jose Mourinho.

Rodriguez explained on Què T'hi Jugues that Barcelona's decision was based on both price and profile.

“Barca consider him a good player,” he said.

“They rejected him, among other reasons, because they were not willing to pay €25m for a player who would not be a starter or play many minutes, and because the profile they were looking for was different.”

Barcelona were not understood to have rejected Espi because of doubts about his ability.

Instead, the issue was whether the investment matched the role available in Hansi Flick's squad.

With Lewandowski leaving, Barcelona needed additional depth at centre-forward, but they were not necessarily looking to commit a major fee to a player who would arrive without a guaranteed place in the starting XI.

Espi's price therefore became difficult to justify.

The Catalan club instead chose a much cheaper route.

Hamza Abdelkarim, who had already spent time within Barcelona's youth structure, was signed permanently from Al Ahly for around €1.5m (£1.3m) after Flick approved the move.

The Egyptian teenager offered a very different proposition.

At 18, he was viewed more as a development player with potential to grow into a larger role rather than an immediate senior investment carrying a £21m price tag.

The same qualities which did not quite fit Barcelona's recruitment plan have proved useful at Real Madrid.

Espi is a more traditional penalty-box striker, with the physical presence to occupy centre-backs and provide a focal point when Mourinho wants to alter the shape of a game.

The former Levante forward scored a late winner against Espanyol earlier in the season before repeating the feat against Elche, finding the net in stoppage time to secure a 3-2 victory.

Those goals have quickly established Espi as an effective option from the bench.

Mourinho has already praised his contribution while acknowledging that Kylian Mbappe remains firmly ahead of him in the pecking order.

He does not need to start every week to have an impact, while Madrid can introduce him when they require greater presence inside the penalty area late in matches.

The contrast with Barcelona is therefore less about one club being right and the other being wrong.

The two Spanish giants were solving different problems.

Barcelona wanted a low-cost forward with room to develop and limited expectation of immediate first-team minutes.

Madrid were prepared to spend substantially more on a striker capable of contributing straight away from the bench.

Espi's strong start has naturally made Barcelona's summer decision more interesting in hindsight.

However, it is still far too early to frame the situation as a transfer mistake.

Barcelona made a calculated choice based on cost, squad role and profile.

Real Madrid simply found that the same player fitted their own needs much better.

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