Bundesliga’s youngest-ever scorer in age scandal as Dortmund star’s father admits he ‘lied about date of birth’
GERMANY star Youssoufa Moukoko is at the centre of an age scandal after his father claimed to have lied about his date of birth.
The Borussia Dortmund wonderkid, who is currently on loan at French side Nice, is seen as one of the best young players in the world.
Moukoko is 20-years-old – but a man claiming to be his registered dad has shockingly alleged the player is actually 24 years of age.
He also says the striker is not his biological son and is using a fake name.
Dortmund have responded to the accusations ahead of a documentary named “Tricks, Cheats, Deception – The Million Dollar Business with Football Talents”, which is set to air on Sunday on German channel ProSieben.
The club said: “In the case of Youssoufa Moukoko, the biological parents and the date of birth are derived from official identification documents and birth certificates issued by a German authority.
“These documents are still valid today and are the basis for playing authorisations and permits for clubs, regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign, and of course also for association teams such as the German U21 national team.
“Please also note that both the player and the biological parents identified in the above-mentioned documents have declared to us and, in the case of the parents, even to third parties through affidavits in the context of legal proceedings that the information contained in the aforementioned official documents is correct.
“This factual status is of course decisive for us, the DFB, and the player’s current club.”
In the show, the man claiming to be the player’s father Joseph Moukoko confesses to falsifying documents about his age and identity.
He says: “We did it so he could have better opportunities in European football.”
Moukoko was born on November 20, 2004, in Yaounde, Cameroon and moved to the German city of Hamburg ten years later.
But the person in the documentary suggests he is born on July 19, 2000.
Moukoko has two senior caps for Germany and became the nation’s youngest ever player aged 17 years and 361 days and the youngest to feature at a World Cup, aged 18 years and 3 days.
He burst onto the scene as the Bundesliga‘s youngest ever player, with his debut coming at the age of 16 years and 1 day.
The starlet then broke the record as the league’s youngest ever goalscorer, hitting the back of the net 27 days after his debut.
Moukoko, who has previously been linked with a move to Chelsea, shone in youth-team football for Dortmund and Germany.
He lifted the Under-21 Euros two years ago and clinched the Fritz Walter Medal for best young prospect in Germany twice.
Back during his days in Dortmund’s Under-17s and Under-19s team, he scored 141 goals in just 88 games.