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Former Real Madrid B striker David Barral has officially signed for Segunda División B side DUX Internacional de Madrid in a deal financed entirely through the use of cryptocurrency.
No transfer fee has been disclosed and Internacional, who are co-owned by DUX Gaming - a Spanish eSports club owned by footballers Borja Iglesias and Thibaut Courtois, did not mention the type of cryptoasset used in the deal.
The deal was made possible thanks to the new collaboration between the club and sponsors CRIPTAN, which is a local platform for the purchase and sales of cryptocurrencies.
In a post on social media, Internacional congratulated Barral as the first professional footballer to be purchased using cryptocurrency.
Additionally, it's worth mentioning that Barral's transfer was facilitated through coins.game, an online crypto casino that is also a sponsor of Internacional.
David Barral new player of DUX Internacional de Madrid, welcome to the infinite club!
He becomes the first signing in history in cryptocurrencies. Thanks to CRIPTAN.es, our new sponsor, for making it possible.
The 37-year-old started his career with Los Blancos, where he made more than 50 appearances for the club's reserve side, before later enjoying spells with the likes of Sporting Gijón, Levante, Granada and, most recently, Racing Santander.
However, this is not the first recorded crypto-powered transfer in football history.
In 2018, amateur Turkish club Harunustaspor signed Ömer Faruk Kıroğlu for 0.0524 bitcoin - €440 at the current conversion rate.
