As he seized a Champions League record from David Beckham and traded blows with Lamine Yamal, suddenly this no longer feels like a bullet dodged for West Ham United.
It is not every day a winger goes eyeball-to-eyeball with Barcelona’s twinkle-toed teenage sensation and ends the night hogging the headlines.
More specifically, it had been a quarter of a century since David Beckham announced himself on the Champions League stage, scoring one and setting up another in a thrilling 3-3 draw between Barcelona and eventual Treble-winners Manchester United.
Carlos Forbs wasn’t even born until six years later down the line.
But in a coming of age performance of his own, a winger who slipped through West Ham United’s fingers threatened to force a very humbling apology out of those who had written him off.
West Ham appeared to dodge a bullet when Manchester City sold Forbs to Ajax for an eye-watering £17 million.
David Moyes reportedly had reservations about taking the Portuguese teenager to the London Stadium. And, for the first two years of Forbs’ post-City career, Moyes appeared a manager vindicated.
Though, in the Scot’s defence, he is not the only one guilty of casting doubts on a winger who – as of Wednesday night – overtook Beckham as the youngest player ever to score and assist against Barcelona in the same Champions League match.
Carlos Forbs celebrates during Club Brugge v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League
Photo by Gerrit van Keulen/Soccrates/Getty Images
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Hansi Flick’s high line has been a source of much debate over in Catalonia this season. Up against the searing pace of Club Brugge’s electrifying number nine, an already risky strategy turned suicidal.
The turbo-charged Forbs had already left the Barca backline choking on his dust when setting up Nicolo Tresoldi’s opener at the Jan Breydel Stadium. There was no catching the 21-year-old when he burst through again before the intervel.
Barcelona the helpless Cayotes to his rapid-fire Roadrunner. Forbs’ legs were a blur as he slotted past Wojciech Szczesny.
Lamine Yamal threatened to stamp his name all over proceedings when finishing off a flowing Blaugrana move in the second-half. But Forbs would respond again during a madcap few minutes.
Between the 60th and the 63rd, Yamal scored and Forbs hit back, two sublime finishes sandwiching another, ever-so-slightly offside effort from Club Brugge’s irrepressible number nine.
“It was a fantastic night,” said a winger with ten goals in 19 appearances for the Belgian giants. “It’s indescribable to perform like that against one of the best teams in the world.”
Former Manchester City starlet Forbs struggled at Ajax and Wolves
Carlos Forbs chose Ajax over West Ham back in 2023 thanks in part to the silver-tongued Sven Mislintat.
The former Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund talentspotter would later depart the Johan Cruyff Arena in circumstances similar to his fellow German at the London Stadium.
If Niclas Fullkrug sums up Steidten’s tainted legacy at West Ham, then Forbs’ record of four goals in 36 Ajax matches epitomised the misplaced spending of the Mislintat era in Amsterdam.
Presuming that Forbs’ record-breaking Barcelona brace is the moment which belatedly kick-starts a career that had stalled at Ajax, there will be more than enough humble pie to go around.
Moyes reportedly turned him down at West Ham, Ajax sold him at a loss, and the sacked Vitor Pereira barely give him a look-in during the most forgettable of Wolverhampton Wanderers loan spells.
Unsurprisingly, when Club Brugge coach Nicky Hayen faced the media following that explosive 3-3 draw with the Spanish champions, the conversation quickly turned to ‘regrets’.
“Should Ajax have any regrets? I don’t need to comment on that,” a bullish Hayen said, insisting that Forbs’ display spoke for itself.
“We’ve seen Carlos in action. We see him as someone with tremendous speed and individual quality. He showed 100 per cent today where his strengths lie.
“He also made a lot of progress defensively. Hats off to you when you have to defend 71 per cent of the time [against a Barcelona team who dominated possession].”
“He’s so fast, especially in the first few metres,” added a disbelieving Club Brugge teammate, Forbs leaving even Barcelona’s livewire left-back Alejandro Balde for dead.
“It’s not normal.”