Youssoufa Moukoko has been caught up in an age storm after an alleged birth certificate was unearthed in Germany.
The Borussia Dortmund star, who holds Bundesliga records as the youngest debutant and scorer, was thought to be an 18-year-old. However, it has been claimed in Germany that a birth certificate allegedly dated for the year 2000 with the name Yousouffa Mohamadou, which was attributed to Moukoko, was discovered last year.
Moukoko, who was named in Germany's squad for the World Cup in Qatar, was born in Yaounde, Cameroon, before moving to live in Germany in 2014, where he was adopted. Austrian news outlet Laola1 has reported that Moukoko's adoptive father had sent the alleged unearthed birth certificate to a journalist.
The player's adoption first came to light in 2022, with an investigation into age fraud allegedly raising doubts about the Dortmund forward being 18 years old. Further concerns stem due to Moukoko allegedly having partners significantly older than him in his early teenage years.
The German Football Association (DFB) has previously been questioned on Moukoko's age but had stressed that it felt the player's age was correct. A previous DFB statement to German newspaper Bild read: "The DFB has already had a number of intensive discussions with Borussia Dortmund at various levels.
"At the DFB's request for careful consideration of the facts, those responsible at Borussia Dortmund always point to the authenticity of the papers and documents, which are also known by DFB. There is therefore no doubt about the correctness of the age of the player. In this matter, the DFB relies on the details of the home club of the player."
In that same year Timo Preus, manager of Dortmund's Under-23s side, told Spox: "With Youssoufa, I can imagine that his age has only been guessed. Maybe in reality he is one or two years older. But certainly he is not 17. For him that is very difficult. There is nothing to blame him for, the boy is not cheating or anything."
Moukoko, who will be out of contract at Dortmund in the summer, although there have been positive talks regarding an extension, had attracted Premier League attention from the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle.
The issue of age fraud has been thrust into the spotlight due to the issues in Cameroonian football. The African nation's under-17 side were preparing to play Central African qualifying games in the Nations Cup this month when it emerged that 21 of the 30-strong squad failed age tests. Several players were called up as a result, but 11 of them were also found to be overage.
Moukoko's representatives have been contacted for comment.
