The way out for 'child prodigy' Moukoko

Youssoufa Moukoko completed his medical at FC Copenhagen and found a new direction for his troubled career in recent times.

After the controversy over his age, Copenhagen is a chance for Moukoko to prove his worth.

Bild revealed that the young striker, once considered a "prodigy" of German football, has officially passed the medical examination in Copenhagen, marking a turning point in his career when leaving Borussia Dortmund.

The Danish club have agreed to buy Moukoko from Borussia Dortmund for an initial fee of €5 million, plus €2 million in performance-related bonuses. Moukoko is expected to sign a five-year contract with Copenhagen, with a salary of around €1 million a year, which could rise to €1.75 million through bonuses.

This is a significantly lower salary than the 8.5 million euros/year he received at Dortmund. The deal marks the end of Moukoko's nine-year journey at Dortmund, where he joined the youth academy from FC St. Pauli in 2016.

Moukoko was born on 20 November 2004 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and was once considered one of the brightest young talents in German football. He set a record when he became the youngest player to play in the Bundesliga (16 years and 1 day) in Dortmund's 5-2 win over Hertha Berlin in November 2020, breaking the previous record held by Nuri Şahin.

Just 27 days later, Moukoko scored against Union Berlin, becoming the youngest player to score in Bundesliga history at the age of 16 years and 28 days. He is also the youngest player to appear in the UEFA Champions League (16 years and 18 days) and the 2022 World Cup (18 years and 3 days).

However, since then, Moukoko has been unable to compete for a starting position with other Dortmund stars. Late last year, Moukoko was accused of cheating on his age and even claiming to have a non-blood relative as his father to fool the German football scouting team.

Bild cited an investigative report by ProSieben saying that the problem of age fraud in Germany's youth training system is causing a stir. The case of young talent Youssoufa Moukoko is a typical example.

On paper, Youssoufa Moukoko was born on November 20, 2004 in Yaoundé (Cameroon) to Joseph Moukoko. However, Bild quoted Joseph Moukoko as saying: "He (Youssoufa Moukoko) is not my biological son, nor is he my wife's son. He was not born on November 20, 2004 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, but on July 19, 2000. He was registered as being 4 years younger than his actual age."

The revelation then rocked German football, as it would seriously affect the transparency of the country's youth scouting and training system. Moukoko himself was also seriously affected psychologically after the incident. Moukoko's move to FC Copenhagen, a team in the Danish Superliga, was a step to save his career.

Source: https://znews.vn/loi-thoat-cho-than-dong-moukoko-post1564352.html