17-year-old footballer Joseph Minala accused of being 41

Joseph Minala is a 17-year-old Cameroon footballer who plays for Lazio.

Lazio’s Joseph Marie Minala is turning into a well-known footballer in Europe at the mere age of 17, but not for the reasons he would want.

A Senegalese website called Senego.net claims that the player had confessed he would be turning 42 this August. The website has even threatened Lazio to release Minala’s birth certificate in order to prove the player’s actual age.

In a statement released by the club, Lazio said: “We reserve the right to take action against those responsible for the protection of the good name of the company and the footballer.”

Lazio have now threatened to take legal action against anyone who questions Minala’s age, reports the Telegraph.

“I have read the alleged statements posted on the website senego.net in which it says I confessed my real age which was different to what was stated in my [official] documents,” said the player from Cameroon.

“They are false statements that have been attributed to me by people who do not know.”

Minala has been receiving considerable abuse on social media over his age.