Mystery Moukoko (Dortmund): is she 18 or 22?

A controversy. Always the same. Youssoufa Moukoko is experiencing a particular situation: clouds over his future. Clouds also on his past. The Dortmund player, who turned 18 in November, has an expiring contract with Borussia. For a couple of weeks he could sign with any club in the world. The BVB has offered him a renewal at 6 million (gross) a year, including bonuses. The problem was the competition with the English clubs: in fact, it seemed that Chelsea and Newcastle, among others, were also interested in buying him. There was even talk of an offer of 9 million a year, plus 30 upon signing. Now however, according to what was reported by both the Daily Mail and Bild, they would have taken a step back. The reason? The real age of Moukoko who, according to some, would be 22 and not 18. And it is not the first time that the boy has been overwhelmed by these insinuations.

history

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“At the moment Youssoufa is the greatest talent in the world – said Haaland a couple of years ago -. He is a very strong player and he is only 16 years old, he is truly incredible. A great career awaits him”. However, the judgment would have to be reviewed if it were actually discovered that Moukoko was born in 2000 and not in 2004. Tall, big, fast: the boy has always had an impressive physique for the age he claimed. It is no coincidence therefore that many, over time, have expressed doubts about the actual year of his birth. “He can’t be older – explained his father Joseph in 2016 -. In fact, his mother is only 27 years old. As soon as he was born, I registered him at the German consulate in Yaoundé, Cameroon. There can be no doubts.” In August 2017, at the age of 12, Moukoko scored a brace on his debut for Dortmund’s U17s, against opponents theoretically up to 4 years older than him. In the first three games he managed to score 8 goals: many, for some even too many. And the skeptics kept mounting. More and more people questioned the veracity of his birth certificate. The controversy then increased following the refusal of the boy’s father to submit him to an x-ray of the wrist to see the bone age (which, however, is not always accurate). In reality, however, Moukoko has grown by about 10 centimeters since he arrived in Dortmund. And you can’t cheat on that.

the scandal

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In 2017, the declarations of Ingo Preuss, at the time team manager of the Dortmund U23 team, also caused a sensation, who admitted to Spox.com that he “imagines that from Moukoko the age has actually been estimated. Maybe he is 1-2 years old in more than he says, but he’s certainly not 17. For him, the situation is difficult. He’s not the one who lies. Once at Bayern I saw a 13-year-old boy who looked 18, only we didn’t care about him. wrote nothing because he didn’t know how to do anything. Youssoufa, on the other hand, is good and therefore all the spotlights are on him”. After more than five years the controversy, and the doubts, remain the same. To the point that Chelsea and Newcastle give up buying him. Also because in Cameroon, Moukoko’s country of origin, a scandal has broken out over the last few days regarding the age of 32 players (from the U17), 21 of whom are older than the one declared. According to Spiegel, moreover, there would be a birth certificate of Moukoko in which the Dortmund player would appear to have been born in July 2000 and not in November 2004. However, the document could not be published for legal reasons. And Moukoko continues to be haunted by controversy. Always the same by the way.