Borussia Dortmund's Youssoufa Moukoko Faces Age Fraud Allegations: Claims Suggest He's 24, Not 20

German football has been rocked by some shocking age fraud allegations towards Borussia Dortmund – currently on loan at OGC Nice – striker Youssoufa Moukoko. This controversy casts doubt on the reliability of football's age verification processes and record-keeping systems.

The controversy came to light ahead of the documentary 'Tricks, Cheats, Deception - The Million Dollar Business with Football Talents' being released on Sunday. In the documentary, it has been claimed that German international Youssoufa Moukoko – who was the youngest player at the 2022 FIFA World Cup – is actually 24 years old instead of 20. Furthermore, the documentary also reveals that Moukoko isn’t his real surname, and Joseph Moukoko isn’t his biological father. Investigations by Bild in Cameroon have uncovered a shocking twist—there are no official records of Moukoko's birth in 2004. However, they did discover documentation for a Youssoufa Mohamadou, born in 2000, listed as the son of Ousman Mohamadou, a local taxi driver. 

In a documentary aired by the German channel ProSieben, Joseph confessed to falsifying documents to present Moukoko as his son and reduce his official age. He said, “Youssoufa Moukoko is not the biological son of me and my wife, Marie Moukoko. Nor was he born on November 20, 2004, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. He was actually born on July 19, 2000. We made him four years younger." Joseph further revealed the reasoning behind their alleged deceit, stating, “We did it so he could have better opportunities in European football.” 

Following these shocking revelations, Moukoko’s parent club Borussia Dortmund have found themselves in hot water. As a result, Die Schwarzgelben have clarified their stance on the situation. Speaking to Sky Germany, Sascha Fligge, the club's communications director, stated: “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 authorizations 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." 

If the irregularities are proven true, the fallout could be massive for Moukoko, Borussia Dortmund, and the competitions he's been part of. This case also raises serious concerns about the age verification systems in youth football and could lead to sanctions for the clubs involved. Moukoko's future is now uncertain, and this scandal not only casts a shadow over his sporting accomplishments but also severely damages his reputation and credibility on the global stage.