1. If it wasn’t for a Game Boy, he may never have taken up football
Carlos’ football journey began as a youngster in his home city of Valencia, on the eastern Spanish coast. However, without a bribe from his grandfather, he may never have taken up the game. Not that he hadn’t already shown an aptitude for the sport – going along to watch his brother play for local team Bonrèpos, he would take shots on the pitch at half-time, impressing the coaches there. While kicking a ball appealed to the young Soler, joining a team didn’t at that stage, so his grandfather promised him a Game Boy if he joined up, and the rest, as they say, is history!
2. It wasn’t long before he was in Valencia’s academy
By the time he was seven, Carlos was on the books of local giants Valencia. Acting as a ballboy and carrying their flag at European games at their Mestalla home, Carlos soon acquired a taste for what was to come. He made his senior debut with Valencia’s B team in the third tier Segunda Division B in May 2015, when he was just 18. Less than 18 months later, he was in the first team, and he scored his first La Liga goal in January 2017, helping Valencia to a 2-0 derby win over Villarreal.
3. He was a fan of the Premier League growing up
Even when he was developing his game as a kid in the Valencia academy, Carlos had half an eye on his future in the Premier League. Early Sunday evenings in the Soler household meant watching English football on the television with his dad thanks to the channel Canal+. There are memories of his countrymen Fernando Torres and Cesc Fàbregas, alongside fellow midfielders like Steven Gerrard. Now, he’s ready to make his mark on English football himself.
4. He once scored a hat-trick of penalties
Carlos holds a unique place in La Liga history, as just the third player to score a hat-trick of penalties in a single game in the competition. He achieved the feat on 8 November 2020, scoring all three of his spot-kicks against Thibaut Courtois to seal a memorable 4-1 win over Real Madrid at the Mestalla. He would go on to finish the 2020/21 campaign as Valencia’s top scorer, with twelve goals in all competitions, as he continued his ascent to the pinnacle of the game.
5. He is a serial winner
After six hugely successful years in the Valencia first team, 226 senior appearances and 36 goals – along with a 2019 Copa del Rey winner’s medal – Soler earned a move to French giants Paris Saint-Germain in August 2022. Having already collected that first piece of silverware with his hometown club, the honours have really flowed during his two years in the French capital. He has won the Ligue 1 title in each of the last two seasons, alongside a Coupe de France three months ago, when PSG defeated Lyon in the final, and a Trophée des Champions from 2023. In short, Carlos has developed a taste for silverware and he is hungry for more in east London.
6. He has appeared alongside a former Hammer in Spain colours
Carlos has also acquired an enviable collection of medals whilst with his national team – and won one of them alongside a popular former Hammer. Soler was a teammate of Pablo Fornals as the pair helped Spain U21s to glory in the 2019 UEFA U19 European Championship in Italy and San Marino - and the pair remain friends to this day. In fact the pair have played together on 14 occasions, twelve while with the U21s and twice for the men’s senior outfit. Soler now has 14 senior caps, and in addition to that 2019 gong, has won silver medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and 2017 UEFA U21 European Championship.
