Falcao In Age Falsification Scandal

Radamel Falcao was introduced at Monaco just three weeks ago, welcomed by a juicy contract and everything wonderful the French Riviera offers after completing a €60m move from Atletico Madrid. But before Monaco even begins their Ligue 1 campaign, their newly-prized asset is already at the center of a damning storm.

A recently published Colombian report questions whether or not “El Tigre" is truly 27 years old as documented by FIFA records, and not two years older as an old civil registration form would suggest.

According to Colombia’s Noticias Uno, Colegio San Pedro Claver de Bucaramanga, one of Falcao’s primary schools, claims the former River Plate and Porto forward was born on Feb. 10, 1984 - making the striker 29 years old. The report adds that the player’s place of birth is Colombia’s capital Bogota, not San Marta, as originally believed.
School official, Wilson Serrano, added further fuel to the scandal and backed the school’s record-keeping:

"He was here in 1989 during preschool for children who are five years old. In order to enroll a student, any student, in this institution, one must provide an official birth certificate. We do not accept copies."

If true, there’s no telling how much this report could hurt Falcao. Monaco, for one, would be livid after spending an exorbitant amount of money on a player that they believe just entered the prime of his career. There’s also the matter of Falcao’s father who did not comment on the report’s findings, but downplayed the contradiction as merely a “clerical error."

Falcao went on Twitter on Tuesday and vehemently denied the allegations calling them “totally ridiculous" and without grounds:

"I have been surprised with stories in the media about my age. I want to deny this and end this issue once and for all."

We’ll say this: where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. We just don’t know yet if this is really more than a puff of smoke, or if we’re just dealing with a simple mistake like Falcao’s father claims. Either way, we’ll keep you posted.

Culled from Foxsoccer