[1] At the age of 7, he moved to Catalonia with his family for working purposes, beginning his career with local amateur clubs and making his senior debut in the Tercera División with CF Igualada.
[4][5][6] Carlos subsequently returned to the Camp Nou and, despite his wish to remain with Oviedo, was sold to Atlético Madrid where he could never settle, being barred at the capital side by the likes of Baltazar and Manolo.
[7][2][3] He returned to the Asturians for the following campaign, proceeding to score 133 competitive goals for them;[8] in seven top-flight seasons, he only netted once in single digits and had 20 in 1993–94.
[6] Subsequently, Carlos had an abroad spell with Mexico's Club Puebla, where he continued to display his abilities.
[11] His first cap came on 12 September 1990 in a friendly with Brazil in Gijón, and he found the net after ten minutes in a 3–0 victory.