By Chris Wright
We’ve got no idea how much stock to put in this, but murmurs are emanating in Colombia that Radamel Falcao may have “Obafemi Martin-ed” the footballing world, with Monaco’s £50million striker possibly being a full two years older than he says he is if several of his early football documents are anything to go by.
Falcao’s dated of birth is registered with FIFA as 10th February 1986, but according to the civil registration records of one of his former primary schools, the Colegio San Pedro Claver de Bucaramanga, it would appear that his date of birth may actually be 10th February 1984 – making the striker 29, not 27-years-old – and that his place of birth is actually the Colombian capital of Bogota, not Santa Marta.
It is also being reported that his school records show Falcao attended something called “pre-school transition” aged five, which is consistent with someone born in 1984, with the scheme no longer existing in 1991, i.e, the year Falcao would’ve turned five if he were born in 1986.
Hmmm.
We’ll keep you posted on this one. Might be nothing (an administrative error, honest mistake, etc), might be something rather significant.