Following his move to Marseille, doubts surrounding the age of Chancel Mbemba (27) have resurfaced. L’Équipe looked back on the scandal, which dominated the beginning of the DR Congo international’s career.
In 2013, FIFA launched an investigation into the centre-back’s age due to incoherences in his identity. He was first announced as having been born in 1988, but during an African Cup of Nations match, he was registered as having been born on 30th November 1991.
His first club, Anderlecht, registered him as having been born on 8th August 1994. He was then later registered as having been born in 1990 for the sole reason of allowing him to be registered to play in the London 2012 Olympics. In total, Mbemba has been registered with four different dates of birth.
8th August 1994 is now recognised by FIFA as his official date of birth. The saga defined the early stages of his career, and even delayed his debut for Anderlecht. He has since played for Newcastle in the Premier League before moving to Porto. Upon the expiry of his contract with the Portuguese side this summer, he signed a three-year deal to join Igor Tudor’s Marseille.
Click Here: custom rapid prototyping service