The alleged father of the Dortmund player has stated under oath that he manipulated the player's age.
Youssoufa Moukoko's career is currently surrounded by controversy. In the latest twist in the ongoing saga over the footballer's age, Joseph Moukoko, who has until now been recognized as his father, has sworn under oath that he is not Youssoufa's biological parent.
According to a document obtained by the German newspaper Bild, Joseph stated: “In full awareness of the penalties for making a false affidavit, I declare under oath: Youssoufa Moukoko is neither my biological son nor that of my wife, Marie Moukoko . He was also not born on November 20, 2004 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.”
This statement directly contradicts the official narrative underlying the career of Moukoko, who is currently on loan from Borussia Dortmund to Nice.
'Father' of Moukoko is said to have revealed forged official documents
In a documentary broadcast on ProSieben, Joseph Moukoko revealed that he had forged official documents to manipulate Youssoufa's age. According to his testimony, he obtained a fraudulent birth certificate in Cameroon and arranged for a fake passport to pass Youssoufa off as his son. “He was actually born on July 19, 2000. We made him four years younger. He is now officially listed as born on November 20, 2004,” Joseph claimed.
If true, these allegations mean Youssoufa would have exceeded the age limits for numerous youth competitions. This includes Borussia Dortmund's U-17 team, with which he won the league title in 2018, and the German U-21 team, which triumphed at the European Championships in 2021 after beating Portugal in the final.
The revelations follow Bild's investigation in Cameroon, which revealed no information about Youssoufa Moukoko's birth in 2004. They did find evidence of a Youssoufa Mohamadou, born in 2000, registered as the son of Ousman Mohamadou, a local taxi driver. In the neighborhood where Youssoufa grew up, several residents confirmed that his biological father lived nearby, in a villa where Ousman Mohamadou lived instead of Joseph Moukoko.
However, Borussia Dortmund continues to express confidence in the official German documents verifying Moukoko's identity and age. The club's communications director, Sascha Fligge, said: “Youssoufa Moukoko's biological parents have been documented on the basis of official identity papers and birth certificates issued by a German authority. These documents remain valid and serve as a basis for his eligibility to play at youth level, both nationally and internationally, as well as for the German U21 national team.”
If these documents turn out to be fraudulent, Borussia Dortmund – an organization that at one point employed Joseph Moukoko as a scout – could be forced to publicly address the issue.
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