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

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 lea ...

who played as a striker. He achieved

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

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 is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

, Levante and

Granada Granada ( ; ) 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 foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. He added 136 matches and 30 goals in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, 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 Cádiz (province), 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 ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Barral started playing professionally in the lower divisions, with

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

'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 The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

, 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 (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

side to return to

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

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in a 3–0 away win against

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

. 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 List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

– 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 miracu ...

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, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

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

Gastón Sangoy Gastón Sangoy (born 5 October 1984) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Career A product of the Boca Juniors youth system in Argentina, he has been loaned out for most of his young career to clubs in the N ...

; 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 List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...

(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 Sporting de Gijón, Real Sporting de Gijón. With a capacity ...

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

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

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

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

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 is a Turkish football club founded in 1967. The club is 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''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

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

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

. 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 Wick ...

in a year after

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

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 club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

. On 5 July 2015, Barral signed for

Al Dhafra FC Al Dhafra FC () is an Emirati professional football club based in Madinat Zayed that competes in the UAE First Division League. Their futsal club participated in AFC Futsal Club Championship. History Al Dhafra FC was established in 2000, as ...

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 (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda ...

. After being involved in a scuffle with teammate

Isaac Cuenca Joan Isaac Cuenca López (born 27 April 1991) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a winger. Formed at Barcelona, where he made 30 total appearances, he also represented Deportivo and Granada in La Liga, additionally play ...

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 (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

champions

APOEL FC APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...

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

AEZ Zakakiou Athletic Union of Zakaki () is a Cyprus, Cypriot association football, football club based in Zakaki, Limassol. The club was founded in 1956. Their colours are green and white and they play at Zakaki Municipal Stadium, but are currently playing a ...

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. is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in Segunda División, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20,724. Salvadoran ...

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 Yasud ...

with

Tokushima Vortis is a Japanese professional football club located in Tokushima, capital of Tokushima Prefecture. The club currently playing in the J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football league. Name origin The name, "Vortis" was named in 19 ...

, 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, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

until 30 June. He achieved promotion to the second tier in his first season, scoring six goals. Barral joined third-tier Internacional de Madrid on 19 January 2021, becoming the first player ever to be bought using

cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. Individual coin ownership record ...

Bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...

was used to sign him instead of conventional currency. In summer 2022, as the club was dealing with serious bureaucratic and financial problems, he announced his retirement.

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 e ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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 took place. Nowadays, the territory is roughly occupied by two districts: Puente de Vallecas (population 240,917) and V ...

Career statistics

Honours

APOEL *

: 2016–17

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barral, David 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from San Fernando, Cádiz 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Cádiz Men's 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 Kings League players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's 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