Six months ago, Carlos Forbs received a message on his cell phone that left him shocked: Ajax, who two years earlier had invested 14 million euros in their exciting football prospect, released him via WhatsApp. Today, not even half a year later, the winger born in Rio de Mouro (Sintra) is the most talked about name in Roberto Martínez’s squad for the national team’s next games in qualifying for the World Cup, against the Republic of Ireland and Armenia. From the cold goodbye in Amsterdam to the “hottest” week of his career, which included two goals against Barcelona in the Champions League, this is the meteoric rise of a young striker who has become accustomed to dodging adversity with the same speed with which he dribbles past defenders on the pitch.
Carlos Forbs — or Carlos Borges, his birth name — arrived into the world on March 19, 2004, in Sintra, the son of Guinean parents. The talent appeared early: he was the fastest and most fearless in futsal at the Núcleo de Atividades Desportivas do Concelho de Sintra, where he signed up with a group of friends. Sporting didn’t take long to notice him. A scout went to see another kid, but ended up pointing the finger at him: “I want that one.”
The dream started to dress in green and white, but for a short time. When he was 9 years old, his family packed their bags and headed to England, looking for a better life. Carlos didn’t want to go — “I had my friends, my country, I didn’t want to leave at all”, he recalled later, on The Locker Room podcast —, but he ended up swapping training at the Academia de Alcochete for a life in Leeds, where his mother found a job.
It was there that destiny knocked on his door again. THE Manchester City opened the doors of the academy to him and, in a short time, he realized that he had an extraordinary talent on his hands.. For almost a decade, Forbs was one of the faces of the future of citizens: scored goal after goal in youth teams, was voted best player in the Under-21 Premier League and national champion with the under-23s. Guardiola asked him to train with the seniors, and it seemed like just a matter of time before the kid from Rio de Mouro arrived at the Etihad. But the jump to the main team did not arrive.
In 2023, the Ajax came up with a proposal of 14 million euros and the promise of space and minutes to shine. The move seemed like the right step and he even started well, with lots of minutes and a goal against Marseille in the Europa League. But Amsterdam ended up not being the fairy tale he had imagined: the club plunged into crisis, changed coaches, and Carlos was one of those who paid the bill. He ended up loaned to Wolverhampton, where he also found no space. And it was then that the dry and impersonal message arrived, via WhatsApp: was dismissed.
Forbs once again had to dodge adversity. Club Brugge, from Belgium, believed in him, paid 8.5 million and gave him back the stage. In just four months, Forbs was reborn: five goals, several assists and an eye-catching (and newspaper page) performance against Barcelona, with two goals and an assist, which earned him the man of the match award in the Champions League.