Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko runs during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. Germany is taking 17-year-old striker Youssoufa Moukoko to the World Cup, Coach Hansi Flick named his 26-man squad for Qatar on Thursday, rewarding Moukoko for scoring six goals and setting up four more in 13 Bundesliga appearances this season.InternationalIndiaAfricaMOSCOW (Sputnik) – Debates around alleged age fraud appear to have cost Germany’s youngest football star Youssoufa Moukoko lucrative offers from Premier League, media reported on Friday. The Borussia Dortmund striker has been hounded by claims of understating his age by four years since at least 2017 when a Hamburg registry office confirmed November 20, 2004 as his birth date. Bundesliga gives his age as 18 but media reports suggest he is actually 22. The Cameroon-born striker’s adoptive father shared his birth certificate with journalists in late November 2022 after the two had a fallout, German weekly Der Spiegel reported. The certificate was reportedly issued in the name of Yousouffa Mohamadou. Meanwhile, German tabloid Bild said it could confirm reports by British media that the allegations of age fraud led Chelsea and Newcastle to break off talks with the teen, whose contract with Borussia is set to expire in summer. German outlet Sky Sport reported that Moukoko’s home club had made progress in talks with his agent as it seeks to sign up the prodigy for the next four years. This could bring the striker 10 million euros ($10.8 million) as a one-off payment plus over 5 million per season. Yet this is far from the 30 million-euro offer he initially received from Newcastle, the Bild daily reported. It cited concerns over suspected age fraud as a reason for taking the offer off the table, as an older player has less potential.
