David Barral Torres (born 10 May 1983) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a striker for

Internacional de Madrid Internacional de Madrid, simply known as Internacional or Inter de Madrid, is a Spanish football team based in Villaviciosa de Odón, in the Community of Madrid. Founded in 2002, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games ...

. He achieved

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

totals of 221 games and 46 goals over eight seasons, with

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...

, Levante and

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. He added 136 matches and 30 goals in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

, and also played professionally in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and Japan.

Club career

Born in

San Fernando, Cádiz San Fernando (, "Saint Ferdinand") is a town in the province of Cádiz, Spain. It is home to more than 97,500 inhabitants. The city also uses the name "''La Isla''" (The Island). The people from San Fernando are locally known as "''Cañaíllas''" ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, Barral started playing professionally in the lower divisions, with

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

's B and C teams, with a loan stint at neighbouring

CF Fuenlabrada Club de Fútbol Fuenlabrada, S.A.D. is a football club based in Fuenlabrada, Community of Madrid, Spain, that currently competes in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, the third tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded in 1975. It holds ...

in between. In the 2006–07 season he moved to

where, in his second year, he formed a formidable attacking partnership with

Mate Bilić Mate Bilić (born 23 October 1980) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a striker. During his professional career he played mainly in Spain – where he arrived at the age of 21 – representing five different clubs. He amassed La Li ...

(arrived in January 2008) to help the

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...

side return to

after a 10-year absence. Barral scored his first top-flight goal on 26 October 2008, from a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

in a 3–0 away win against

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...

. During the campaign he again paired up with Bilić for a total of 22 league goals, and scored a crucial one in the last matchday – a 2–1 home victory over

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...

– as Sporting avoided relegation. On 20 March 2010, Barral scored at former club Real Madrid: he beat the offside trap and cut inside from the right hand, before firing past

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce spectac ...

for the game's first, but the hosts turned the score around for a final 3–1 win. In

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, Barral continued to battle with Bilić for first-choice status, with Sporting also having acquired

Gastón Sangoy Gastón Sangoy (born 5 October 1984) is a former professional Argentine footballer who last played as a striker for Atlètico Paraná. Career A product of the Boca Juniors youth system in Argentina, he has been loaned out for most of his you ...

; coach

Manuel Preciado Manuel "Manolo" Preciado Rebolledo (28 August 1957 – 6 June 2012) was a Spanish football defender and manager. His 15-year career was mainly associated with Racing de Santander, and he also represented five other teams, mostly in the lower l ...

often fielded only one striker. On 15 January 2011, in the 19th round, he opened his account, at home against

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football team in Alicante, in the autonomous community of Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 3 and plays its hom ...

(2–0). In the next league match, also at

El Molinón Estadio El Molinón (), officially Estadio Municipal El Molinón-Enrique Castro "Quini", is an association football stadium in Gijón, Asturias, Spain. The stadium is the home ground of Real Sporting de Gijón. With a capacity of 29,029 seats, El ...

, he also found the net, for the game's only goal against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. The following month, he helped his team to a 1–1 home draw with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

after a fine individual effort early in the first half. In the 2011–12 season, Barral scored nine goals from 30 appearances (best in the squad), but it was not enough to prevent Sporting from being relegated after five years. On 5 July 2012, aged 29, he moved abroad for the first time, signing with

Orduspor Orduspor was a Turkish football club founded in 1967. The club was located in Ordu, Turkey and played their home games at 19 Eylül Stadium. The team managed to qualify for the Turkish Super League again in 2011. But, the last spell in top level ...

of the Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

. Barral returned to his homeland in the summer of 2013, penning a two-year deal with

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...

. On 7 February 2015, he became the first national player to score a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a year after

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

Aritz Aduriz Aritz Aduriz Zubeldia (; ; born 11 February 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his career with Athletic Bilbao, scoring 172 goals across all competitions for the team over three spells ...

, in a 4–1 home win over

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

. On 5 July 2015, Barral signed for

Al Dhafra FC Al Dhafra FC () is a professional football club based in Madinat Zayed, United Arab Emirates. As of the 2020–21 season they play in the UAE Arabian Gulf League. Their futsal club participated in AFC Futsal Club Championship. History Al Dh ...

in the United Arab Emirates after his contract with Levante expired. On 24 January of the following year, he returned to Spain and its top division after agreeing to an 18-month deal at

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

. After being involved in a scuffle with teammate Isaac Cuenca during a meal at the club's sports city, in late November 2016, Barral was suspended indefinitely. On 16 January 2017, he signed an 18-month contract with

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

champions

APOEL FC APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

. He scored twice on his debut six days later, in his team's 7–0 home defeat of

AEZ Zakakiou Athletic Union of Zakaki ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Ζακακίου) is a Cypriot football club based in Zakaki, Limassol. The club was founded in 1956. Their colours are green and white and they play in Zakaki Municipal Stadium. Chairma ...

for the domestic league. On 27 May 2017, Barral's contract was mutually terminated, and he joined

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., known simply as Cádiz, is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in the La Liga, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20 ...

on a one-year deal on 12 July. Still in that year, on 19 November, he scored in his very first match at Sporting's home ground after leaving, helping the visitors to a 3–0 victory. On 15 January 2019, after a brief spell in the

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yas ...

with

Tokushima Vortis is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team is located in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima. The name, "Vortis ...

, the 35-year-old Barral returned to Spain and signed with

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system ...

until 30 June. He achieved promotion to the second tier in his first season, scoring six goals. Barral joined third-tier

on 19 January 2021, becoming the first player ever to be bought using

cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...

Bitcoin Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...

was used to sign him instead of conventional currency.

International career

Barral was not

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

at any level. He played for the Andalusia autonomous team on 7 June 2013 against their Madrid equivalent on the centenary of the latter's Football Federation, and scored both goals of a 2–1 win in

Vallecas Vallecas was a municipality of Spain that disappeared as such in 1950, when its annexation to the Municipality of Madrid was effectuated. Nowadays it is a large neighborhood of Madrid composed of two districts: Puente de Vallecas (population ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

APOEL *

: 2016–17

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barral, David 1983 births Living people People from San Fernando, Cádiz Sportspeople from the Province of Cádiz Spanish footballers Footballers from Andalusia Association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Primera Federación players Real Madrid C footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers CF Fuenlabrada footballers Sporting de Gijón players Levante UD footballers Granada CF footballers Cádiz CF players Racing de Santander players Internacional de Madrid players Süper Lig players Orduspor footballers UAE Pro League players Al Dhafra FC players Cypriot First Division players APOEL FC players J2 League players Tokushima Vortis players Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Japan Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Japan