JAKARTA - A fake footballer who almost tricked the club into offering him a three-year contract worth £540,000 per month has been banned from playing by his father because of his poor game.
Grégoire Akcelrod is a famous Frenchman who once made various clubs believe that he was a rising football star. After playing for amateur side Paris Saint-Germain in the fifth division, he confidently claimed to be a substitute for the Ligue 1 champions through the creation of a fake website.
However, before successfully tricking several clubs such as Norwich, Bournemouth, and Swindon into offering a trial, Akcelrod was once banned from playing football by his father because of his mediocre skills.
After witnessing firsthand his pathetic abilities, his father kicked him off the soccer field between the ages of 10 and 18 in shame.
“I played my first match in front of my father at the age of 10. It was like a Champions League final for me," recalling his first memories of football, the Parisian told The Daily Mail.
"We played against a good team and we lost 4-0. When we were in the car on the way home, he said, 'Greg, Daddy's so sad. You are so bad. You are so lazy. I don't want to see you on the football field again.'
"I was shocked. Being on the football field with my friends was my best time of the week."
Akcelrod, however, never gave up on his dream. He was determined to prove his disparaging father wrong by playing for PSG's reserve team in France's bottom division to pursue an education, which saw him cut off by his wealthy family.
He embarked on an elaborate scheme that saw him falsify match reports from L'Equipe by renaming Nicolas Anelka with his own, as well as sneaking onto the Parc des Princes pitch to take an 'official' photo of him as PSG's reserve.
Chelsea, Manchester City, and Arsenal saw his fake CV and website but Swindon Town gave him a trial run in the summer of 2003. Akcelrod's lack of talent was evident on his first day of testing, though he went on to achieve greater success with Bournemouth.
The Frenchman took advantage of the Cherries' financial crisis in the early 2000s and was able to train with the squad for a week in the 2007 pre-season, during which he scored in a friendly.
Swindon then emerged as an interest and gave him a trial period in that pre-season. The striker managed to surprise the Robins fans with his two goals in that game. However, manager Paul Sturrock refused to sign him.
VOIR éGALEMENT:
A total of 21 other testing clubs arrived, including Norwich who had to regret their decision after witnessing the player's poor performance in a reserve team-friendly.
However, Akcelrod's dream almost came true when CSKA Sofia, who had just qualified for the Champions League, contacted him in the summer of 2009. The Bulgarian club even offered him a three-year contract worth £540,000 which he signed and even posed for in a photo shoot.
However, Akcelrod's lies were exposed after CSKA fans who asked PSG's online forum got an answer that this player is a braggart.
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