Real Madrid have completed the signing of Carlos Espí, with the highly-rated striker taking part in his first training session at Valdebebas on Friday after the club activated his €25 million release clause at Levante. The 21-year-old has signed a five-year deal running to June 2031.
The move arrives as Gonzalo García finalizes his own exit to Fulham, where he reunites with former Real Madrid boss Álvaro Arbeloa. That sale — reportedly worth around €40 million plus €2 million in add-ons, with a 30% sell-on clause and matching rights retained — comfortably covers Espí’s release fee, meaning the swap is close to self-funding for the club. Mourinho identified Espí as his preferred replacement for the academy graduate, and the Portuguese coach personally welcomed the new arrival to training.
Beating the Premier League to a domestic talent
Espí’s release clause had attracted real interest from England, with reports linking Brighton and Hull City as clubs ready to trigger it, and others naming Everton, Leeds United, and Aston Villa among his suitors over the summer — as recently as this week he’d been described in some reports as on his way to the Premier League. Real Madrid moved fast enough to beat all of them to a player developed domestically, rather than losing him abroad, triggering the clause within hours of Gonzalo’s departure being confirmed.
From the stands to the dressing room
There’s a neat footnote to his arrival: Espí has already stood on the Bernabéu pitch wearing a Madrid shirt — as an opponent. He came off the bench for seven minutes during Levante’s January 17 league visit, in a chaotic week for the club that came just days after Xabi Alonso’s exit, with Arbeloa in interim charge at the time.
What he brings
Standing 1.94 meters tall, Espí offers a classic center-forward profile — physical, strong in the air, a relentless presser, and increasingly polished technically for a player his size. His rise has been fast: barely a year ago he was weighing up a Segunda División loan after struggling for minutes under previous Levante boss Julián Calero. Everything changed when Luis Castro arrived mid-season, handing him a real chance. Espí took it, finishing the campaign with 11 goals and two assists from roughly 1,300 league minutes, output that helped a side once bottom of the table avoid relegation — form recognized with the award for the division’s best under-23 player.
Notably, Real Madrid’s interest in Espí predates that breakout entirely — the club had tried to sign him for Castilla back in 2024, only for Levante to reject the approach on the belief his value would keep rising. This time, with the release clause in place, there was no negotiation to have.
Those close to him describe a grounded personality to match the talent: he’s continued studying Physical Activity and Sports Sciences alongside his football career, and reportedly insisted his Levante teammates join him on stage when he collected a Player of the Month award during the relegation fight, saying the recognition belonged to the whole squad. His agent, Pep Serer, told Marca that once Real Madrid entered the race, interest from anywhere else became irrelevant — and that Espí arrives understanding he’s there to learn from senior teammates first, not to expect instant prominence.
First minutes could come quickly
Espí has already been included in the squad for Saturday’s preseason friendly against Fiorentina and could make his unofficial debut immediately, arriving in good physical shape after continuing to train with Levante through July. Friday’s session at Valdebebas began in the gym before moving to the pitch for passing drills, sprint work, tactical sessions, a small-sided game, and finishing practice, with Gonzalo absent as his Fulham move nears completion and Dean Huijsen, Raúl Asencio, Ferland Mendy, Éder Militão, and Rodrygo all still working through individualized recovery programs.
RMxtra Verdict
A five-year contract suggests Real Madrid are planning in seasons rather than months for Espí, but as with any young striker walking into a crowded Bernabéu forward line, plans and actual team sheets don’t always match. For now, this is a swift, largely self-funded piece of business that gives Mourinho a genuinely different profile up front — and gives Espí the platform his breakout season had been building toward
