{"id":37749,"date":"2026-08-28T18:12:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T16:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/?p=37749"},"modified":"2026-08-28T18:12:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T16:12:41","slug":"barcelona-want-to-hijack-carlos-espe-from-real-madrid-after-turning-him-down-mourinho-faces-a-new-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/?p=37749","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona Want to Hijack Carlos Espe from Real Madrid After Turning Him Down\u2026 Mourinho Faces a New Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some transfer decisions appear perfectly reasonable when they are made, only to become a source of regret weeks later. That is exactly what has started to happen with Barcelona and Carlos Espe, the Spanish forward who was available to the Catalan club before making a surprise move to Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

But what makes the story even more intriguing is not simply the young striker\u2019s move from Levante to Barcelona\u2019s biggest rivals, but how quickly the situation has changed. Barcelona decided against taking the risk of paying \u20ac25 million, while Real Madrid saw in the player the solution they were looking for. His debut then gave the entire story a completely different dimension.<\/p>\n

Barcelona Turned Down Espe\u2026 While Real Madrid and Mourinho Reap the Reward<\/h2>\n

Carlos Espe was one of the names attracting attention during the summer transfer window after enjoying an impressive season with Levante. He scored 11 goals in La Liga and was later named the league\u2019s best Under-23 player.<\/p>\n

According to journalist Sique Rodriguez on the \u201cQu\u00e8 t’hi Jugues\u201d program, Barcelona had indeed considered signing Espe, with sporting director Deco believing the player had quality and room for development. However, the Catalan club ultimately rejected the deal because of the financial cost.<\/p>\n

The reason was clear: Espe\u2019s contract contained a \u20ac25 million release clause, and Barcelona did not want to spend that amount on a forward who was not expected to be a regular starter under Hansi Flick.<\/p>\n

\n

Barcelona saw \u20ac25 million as too big a risk for a player who was unlikely to be a starter\u2026 Real Madrid decided to take that risk.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While Barcelona stepped away from the deal, Real Madrid moved quickly, particularly after Gonzalo Garcia left for Fulham, leaving the club in need of another attacking option with different characteristics.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Real Madrid completed the deal for \u20ac25 million, the value of Espe\u2019s release clause, with the Spanish forward signing a five-year contract with the club.<\/p>\n

That is where Jose Mourinho entered the heart of the story.<\/p>\n

The Portuguese manager was looking for a forward who could give Real Madrid a different option in attack. Espe possesses the characteristics of a traditional striker capable of operating inside the penalty area, attacking crosses and reacting to second balls, making him different from some of the attacking options already available to the team.<\/p>\n

And Espe did not need long to send his first message to Mourinho.<\/p>\n

After coming off the bench against Espanyol, the young forward entered the match in the 80th minute before scoring Real Madrid\u2019s winning goal in the 90th minute, giving his team three valuable points in his first official appearance for the club.<\/p>\n

The goal was not simply a perfect start for a new signing. It also reopened a major question at Barcelona: was the decision to reject the \u20ac25 million deal for Espe actually the right one?<\/p>\n

Barcelona had been looking for a forward capable of adding more strength to its attack, particularly with options such as Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres in the squad. Yet the Catalan club ultimately decided against taking a major financial risk on a player who was not guaranteed to start.<\/p>\n

Instead, Barcelona turned to cheaper options, including Hamza Abdelkarim, whose transfer was reportedly worth around \u20ac1.5 million.<\/p>\n

Real Madrid, meanwhile, paid \u20ac25 million and did not have to wait long to receive the first return on its investment.<\/p>\n

That is where the most intriguing part of the story emerges: Barcelona did not lose a player who was unknown to them. The club had studied Espe and knew exactly what he could offer, but ultimately decided not to pay the required fee.<\/p>\n

Real Madrid, under Mourinho, took advantage of the opportunity. Espe is now part of the club\u2019s project as a young striker capable of giving the team a different solution in matches that require a genuine penalty-box presence.<\/p>\n

After his goal against Espanyol, the pressure on Barcelona increased even further, particularly if Espe continues to produce strong performances for Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

There are currently no confirmed indications that Barcelona have launched an official new move to bring Espe back or hijack him from Real Madrid. However, the player\u2019s impressive start could turn the club\u2019s previous decision into one of the biggest talking points inside Barcelona.<\/p>\n

For Mourinho, Espe\u2019s immediate impact represents an important gain. At the same time, however, it could create a different kind of problem: the more the young striker proves himself, the harder it becomes to keep him as merely an alternative option, potentially forcing the Portuguese coach to reconsider his attacking plans.<\/p>\n

The story is therefore no longer simply about a player Barcelona rejected before Real Madrid signed him. It has become an early test of two very different transfer decisions: Barcelona\u2019s decision not to spend \u20ac25 million and Real Madrid\u2019s decision to take the risk.<\/p>\n

Now that Espe has started his Madrid journey with a dramatic 90th-minute winner, every new goal could bring Barcelona\u2019s old decision back into the spotlight once again.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some transfer decisions appear perfectly reasonable when they are made, only to become a source of regret weeks later. That is exactly what has started to happen with Barcelona and Carlos Espe, the Spanish forward who was available to the Catalan club before making a surprise move to Real Madrid. But what makes the story […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[933],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rreal-madrid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stad10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}