17-year Old Soccer player Angered by Fans/Press Doubting his Age

I'm not a soccer/football fan nor do I blog about sports, but this particular story caught my attention. So there's this player who claims to be 17 years old, but to the naked eye looks like a 40 year old. Joseph Minala from Cameroon has been receiving backlash/criticism from fans across the globe for allegedly lying about his age. His Italian Club Lazio went as far as releasing his official documents to prove that the "17-year old" mid-fielder was not 41 as it's being speculated!

According to the Metro UK, 

Minala caused a stir this week because of his appearance after being one of the "youngest" players in recent years to be promoted to the Lazio first-team. He was subject of abuse on social media, with many claiming he was an age cheat, who is in fact much older than 17.


Minala’s agent has rubbished the claims, but quotes have emerged in the Senegal press suggesting that the player has admitted that he is 41 – and will turn 42 in August

Minala’s age was questioned after he posted this photo online (Picture: Instagram)

They claim that the starlet confessed to a reporter that he has been lying in order to earn money to send back to his family in Cameroon.

However, Lazio have now moved to end the age speculation by publishing his official documents on their website, with the club insisting that his registration proves that he is 17.

‘Lazio, referring to press reports relating to the age of player Joseph Minala, confirms the absolute legitimacy of the documentation filed with the federal authorities,’ they said in a statement.

In fairness to his critics, the Cameroonian is possibly the oldest looking teenager on the planet but his agent has slammed the ‘unfair allegations’.

Minala, who only joined the Italian giants in December, hit back at his critics on Twitter, before closing down his account.

ION: If this guy is really 17, then I'm 9!