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Real Madrid News 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. 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. Barcelona chose Hamza over €25 million gamble 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 is already making an impact under Mourinho 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. Real Madrid News La Liga midfield prospect will not join Real Madrid this summer – report Both Real Madrid and Real Madrid Castilla are currently looking for midfield recruits in the final stage of the summer transfer window. For the first team, the dream is to sign a player who can offer control in the middle of the field with the name of Martin Zubimendi sounding strongly. The Castilla side, meanwhile, are looking for a player who can slot in as a regular starter and possibly take up the role Thiago Pitarch has played in recent seasons. After all, the youngster is expected to be involved more in first-team dynamics. To kill two birds with one stone, Los Blancos identified Racing Santander’s young talent Sergio Martinez as a target and all but reached an agreement with the player. The official announcement, in fact, was only seen to be a matter of time. Deal has collapsed Now, as confirmed by Rodra via Defensa Central, Martinez will not be joining Real Madrid this summer despite being ever-so-close to the transfer. The Spanish journalist confirms that he has spoken to the player’s representative and close circle and that it is clear that he will not sign for Real Madrid this summer. Martinez already had his doubts over the transfer as confirmed by Chema Aragon, the sporting director of Racing. Furthermore, Sergio Canales played an important role in changing his mind by encouraging him to stay and grow at Racing. What were Martinez’s reservations The Spanish outlet also confirms that the young midfield talent did not see it fit to be registered with the Castilla side to play in the Primera RFEF. There may be a last-minute change in mind, but as matters stand, the player feels he can grow better at his existing club than moving to Real Madrid’s B team and hoping for a promotion that may never come. Initially, there was an idea that the player could sign for the Castilla and return on loan to Racing, but Real Madrid blocked that possibility in recent days citing the need for a midfielder in the subsidiary side. Ultimately, that appears to have been the reason for its undoing.