Youssoufa Moukoko

Location: Dortmund, Germany

Koko celebrates his 15th birthday with friends and family in his apartment in Dortmund. And it looks like he's gotten a very special gift from footballing idol and the best player in history, Lionel Messi! (Image: Instagram)

Born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on November 20th, 2004, as a young boy he lived with grandparents in his native land before emigrating to Germany as ten year old to join his father in Hamburg in the summer of 2004. Soon young Koko was kicking the ball around with the youth academy of local side St Pauli. Koko’s incredible eye for goal was evident from the start as he hit the back of the net 23 times in 13 outings and before long German Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund were knocking at his door. Joining Die Schwarzgelben in 2016, Koko had a meteoric rise, playing with kids 4-5 years older than him and scoring an astonishing 127 goals in 84 appearances for Dortmund’s U17s and U19s. On September 17th, 2019, Koko took the field in an UEFA Youth League fixture against FC Barcelona, becoming the youngest player ever to play in the competition’s history. A month later he scored in 1-0 win over Internzionale to become the tournament’s youngest ever goalscorer. It wouldn’t stop there as the 15 year old Cameroonian forward was promoted to train with the first team in January 2020. A child prodigy Koko has faced a lot of allegations in regards to his age due to his mind boggling on-field performances. On the international stage he has represented Germany at both U16 and U20 level.