Atletico Madrid has signed Carlos Espí in a lightning-fast operation, becoming the biggest sale of a Levante academy product. The forward, who has scored 11 goals and two assists in 1,300 minutes in the 2025-26 season, has been signed by the club in a quick operation to bring in the young striker. The Granota club had the player well tied up, but knew that the 25 million clause would not prevent one of the big clubs from taking a player who had decided to stay in the recently promoted team to First Division, despite knowing he would not have many opportunities. It was the arrival of Luis Castro at the bench that changed his role in the team and also changed the luck of a team that seemed doomed to Second Division in January. In March 2024, when Carlos Espí was still a young forward who was just starting to appear in professional football, Real Madrid called the door of Levante with an offer to incorporate him into Castilla. "We did not accept it because we saw that he had enormous potential", remembered Felipe Miñambres, then Granota sports director, in MARCA. Two years later, the call was repeated, but in different terms. It's no longer about a promise that sparked curiosity in Valdebebas, but about a player with a huge potential. Espí's story began long before the big clubs took notice of him. In Tavernes de la Valldigna (78 kilometers south of Valencia), where from the window of his house you could see the football field and where spending the afternoon meant going down to kick a ball. There, when he was just six years old, he caught the attention of Javi Tur, the coach who knew him since he was in diapers. "Children of that age usually have fear of hitting the ball with their head and he went with all his might. He didn't think about it". However, the difference was not marked by strength or talent, but by a calm and almost silent ambition. During the pandemic, he made a definitive leap. When Alzira called to incorporate him, the family did not see the need to change environment for the disruption of training and match transfers. Carlos did. "I want to play against the best", he replied then. "Carlos sees a step and takes it; and then, he continues to climb", describes his father, Juanjo Espí. In the riverbank club, a coach questioned by bad results called Espí for the final match. The forward scored two goals and caught the attention of some scouts who had dropped by the field. "That's where it all started", his father remembered. The next day... Later, more rumors sounded. But the family decided that the good judgment of Pepe Serer as an agent would benefit him in the future. That awkward teenager of almost 1.90 also needed to learn to live with a body in full transformation. His uncle Sergio Palomares took on part of that task. Physical sessions arrived, weight loss, strength and coordination work. "At 15 or 16 years old, that's when they mold him", explained his father. Alavés had monitored the player, but Levante equalized the offer of the Basque club and Carlos decided to stay in Valencia. And it was in the city...