MALICK YALCOUYÉ FALSELY ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT HIS AGE AS OLD RUMOURS RESURFACE

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Monday, 21st September 2026

MALICK YALCOUYÉ FALSELY ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT HIS AGE AS OLD RUMOURS RESURFACE

Ivorian midfielder Malick Yalcouyé has become the subject of an online age controversy after social media users questioned his officially recorded age following his impressive start to life in the Premier League with Brighton.

Yalcouyé, who is officially 20 years old, attracted the attention of social media users after scoring his first Premier League goal against Chelsea on August 30. Some users claimed that his physical appearance suggested that he was older than his stated age. However, investigations by the FRANCE 24 Observers found no evidence supporting the accusations.

ASEC MIMOSAS RESPONDS WITH ARCHIVE PHOTOS

Rather than allowing the speculation to continue unanswered, ASEC Mimosas, the Ivorian club where Yalcouyé developed as a young player, went into its archives.

The club published photographs documenting Yalcouyé’s development from 2018 through 2023, when he was progressing through the academy system.

ASEC’s response was essentially that the player’s development had been documented over several years and that the photographic record provided context against the social-media speculation.

FROM ACADEMY FOOTBALL TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Yalcouyé’s football journey began at ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan before his move into European football.

His rapid development eventually took him to Brighton, where his performances have placed him under greater international attention.

Ironically, his emergence at the highest level has also exposed him to the kind of age speculation that has affected other young African footballers.

ALOPECIA ALSO PART OF THE EXPLANATION

Ivorian football journalist Dobe Aboubacar has also pointed to Yalcouyé’s reported alopecia, which has contributed to changes in his hair and appearance over recent years.

Archived images reportedly show the changes becoming noticeable from around 2024, offering another explanation for why some recent photographs look different from earlier pictures.

NO EVIDENCE OF AGE FRAUD

The important point is that there is currently no evidence establishing that Yalcouyé falsified his age.

The accusations appear to have originated primarily from social-media users judging his age from his physical appearance. FRANCE 24’s investigation found that ASEC Mimosas’ archive material documents his development from adolescence, while the publication described the accusations against him as baseless.

The episode also highlights a wider issue in football: genuine cases of age falsification involving some African players have existed, but that history does not automatically establish that every African youngster whose appearance attracts questions has falsified his age.

For Malick Yalcouyé, the available evidence currently points to a young Ivorian footballer whose rapid rise has brought both Premier League attention and an unwarranted social-media controversy.

By OLAWALE HAMZAT TOP STRIKER

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