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Third-division Spanish side DUX Internacional Madrid, also known as Inter Madrid, have signed former Real Madrid B striker David Barral using Bitcoin.
This has made them the first ever professional team to buy a player using crypto-currency.
The veteran Spanish striker has played for a host of clubs during his career, including having made over 50 appearances for Real Madrid B. Barral also played for other Spanish sides such as Sporting Gijon, Levante and Racing Santander.
According to DailyMail, the validity of the deal has been put into question as the footballing authorities are yet to acknowledge the transfer due to no fixed transfer fee being disclosed by Inter Madrid.
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Inter Madrid's new sponsors, Criptan, played a huge role in bringing Barral to the club using only crypto-currency. After having signed David Barral, the club released a statement which read:
"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, our new sponsor, for making it possible."
Inter Madrid's sponsors Criptan encouraged the Spanish side to use crypto-currency to secure the deal. CryptoAdventure explains that Criptan is a local platform that is used for purchasing and selling crypto-currency such as Bitcoin.
This could truly be a defining moment in football transfers, as we could see more clubs implement crypto-currencies in buying and selling players.
Inter Madrid's ownership group includes Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, along with his friends, teamed up to buy shares in Inter Madrid last year.
Back in 2018, Turkish amateur side Harunustaspor bought a player using only Bitcoin, in what was the first instance of a crypto-currency transaction in football.
The Turkish side bought Omer Faruk Kiroglu using Bitcoin worth an estimate of around £1226. Harunustaspor paid 0.0524 Bitcoin plus 2,500 Turkish Lira to acquire the players' services.
