Hull City owner, Acun Ilicali has slammed Real Madrid for supposedly fabricating ‘false narratives’ regarding the Tigers’ alleged interest in acquiring Los Merengues player, Carlos Espi.
The Tigers, who triumphed in the EFL Championship play-off final in May, are eager to secure a new forward as they prepare for the Premier League this summer. Consequently, they were reported to be interested in signing former Levante star Espi.
However, Espi finalized a permanent transfer to La Liga giants Real Madrid earlier on Thursday (July 30). The 21-year-old towering striker joined Jose Mourinho’s team for a fee exceeding £21 million, which was purportedly his release clause.
Ilicali has now clarified that his team never intended to pursue Espi this summer. He responded to a Los Blancos aggregator account’s assertions about the forward nearly joining the Tigers on X.
He stated, “Guys, your club is big enough without making fake stories about Hull City. We never made any offer, we wish him the best in Real Madrid.”
Espi, who led Levante to the La Liga 2 title in the 2024-25 season, enjoyed a breakout year prior to the commencement of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He scored 13 goals in just 1438 minutes, across 27 total matches for Levante.
With Gonzalo Garcia reportedly nearing a move to Premier League side Fulham, Espi may have ample opportunities to excel at Los Blancos next season. He will compete with talents such as Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Endrick.
Meanwhile, Hull has already completed four permanent signings this summer. They have acquired goalkeeper Jack Butland, midfielder Hidemasa Morita, left-back Matt Targett, and defensive midfielder Oscar Zambrano thus far.
Transfer: ‘You’re too big for this’ – Hull City slam Real Madrid over Carlos Espi