A Czech third division club has made an unusual transfer this season, deciding to sign a 22-year-old who has only played the FIFA video game and has no professional footballing experience, BBC Sport reported.
Martin Podhajský was signed by FK Ústí nad Labem after his father paid 500k Koruna (around £17,500) so his son would get ten minutes of game time.
Podhajský is expected to replace their captain and striker when he makes his appearance for the Czech side.
Commenting on the signing, club chairman Premysl Kuban said, "He doesn't play football - only FIFA on the computer. However, I don't see 500K Czech Koruna rolling on the floor every day. If someone gives me this type of money, I'll let anyone join", BBC Sport reported.
The club has been teasing this transfer for some time now, with a video posted on August 4 where they appear to deliberate on the offer of accepting the amount for ten minutes play-time.
At a time when Saudis have disrupted the football transfer market with mind-boggling amounts in an attempt to lure top talents from European leagues, the surprising signing by the Czech club has provided a moment of lighthearted fun among some football fans, though others were far less receptive, with one social media user commenting "A bunch of rich entitled kids about to run to mummy and daddy begging for this now."
Published 15 September 2023, 09:31 IST