Boro goalkeeper Victor Valdes launches dating app

As if he isn’t busy enough minding the sticks for newly promoted Middlesbrough, Victor Valdes has only gone and launched his own dating app.

The former Barcelona goalkeeper turned matchmaker, who signed for the Teessiders in the summer, believes ‘Hola Dating’ will work a treat for those who spot someone they quite like the look of but are a bit anxious about initiating conversation.

Explaining how it all works on a video on his Twitter page, Valdes said: “Here I’m on the app and the system says ‘Hola’ and gives me a brown-orange colour. The system is giving me a completely random colour.

“Then, I show this message to the person I want to start a conversation with and that person can search for me and my profile thanks to the colour I’ve shown them. So then, we can start a conversation in a private channel.”

So, what’s the reason behind this rather unusual past time?

 "We think that in the dating world, you can feel attracted to someone on the bus, the metro, in a cafe, or in a college or club,” he said.

"But, you don't necessarily have the courage to approach them and break the ice. Therefore you need this app."

The app is still in its beta phase of development but is expected to hit the iOS App Store and the Android Play Store soon. It is being designed and written by software engineers at the public Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Valdes is currently Boro’s first choice goalkeeper and was a standout performer in his side’s goalless draw with Arsenal at the Emirates last weekend.