Valencia twice passed on Real Madrid striker Carlos Espi before Mestalla return

Valencia had two opportunities to sign Real Madrid striker Carlos Espi during his youth career at Alzira but chose not to pursue a deal, according to reports in Spain.

Valencia are due to host Real Madrid at Mestalla on Saturday evening in the 12th round of LaLiga, giving Espi the chance to face the club that twice decided against recruiting him.

Espi, who was born in Tavernes de la Valldigna in 2005, has never played at Mestalla. He could have made the stadium a home ground earlier in his career, but missed Levante’s visit to Valencia last season because of injury.

Alzira first presented the forward to Valencia on two occasions while he was still developing in their youth system. On neither occasion did Valencia take the necessary steps to complete a transfer.

Espi joined Alzira from UE Tavernes, who later faced Valencia in the Copa del Rey. His potential had been identified by Marta Pellicer, a member of the talent-scouting department at La Safor, who had strong confidence in his ability.

At the time, Alzira’s under-16 team competed at regional level within the Valencian Community, while Tavernes played in the district leagues. On the recommendation of Alzira sporting director Rafa Asensio, the club appointed a personal coach to work with Espi one day each week, with a focus on improving his physical development.

The decision produced clear results. Espi scored six goals for Alzira’s under-16 side, followed by 25 for the club’s youth C team and six for the youth B team.

Over those three years, his matches increasingly attracted scouts and agents, who began attending games to assess him in person.

In 2022, Alzira and Valencia, who have a cooperation agreement, arranged a friendly match to monitor several youth players. Espi was among those involved, but he failed to produce the performance Valencia had hoped to see and the club again decided against signing him.

He continued to score regularly in league competition, however, prompting Levante to pursue his signature. Asensio handled negotiations over the transfer.

Levante initially rejected Alzira’s conditions, which included the retention of a percentage of any future sale. That clause ultimately benefited Alzira four years later, when the club received 2.5m euros following Espi’s move to Real Madrid.

While the negotiations with Levante stalled, Asensio and Espi’s father reopened discussions with Valencia in another attempt to secure a move. The striker even visited Valencia’s training centre in Paterna for a further trial, but the second effort also failed to lead to a transfer.

Levante eventually agreed to give Alzira 10% of any future transfer fee, despite the club originally asking for 15%. Espi then moved to Levante before becoming a Real Madrid player.