Crazy Soccer Stories: Frauds, Fakes, and Bold Lies | OneFootball

Soccer has seen its fair share of deception. From agents and players to coaches, not everyone in the game is exactly who or what they claim to be. Here, we’ve compiled some of the most legendary cases of individuals who weren’t just exaggerating, but were outright frauds.

The world of football is no stranger to an odd story. Just this week, Nigeria manager Eric Chelle accused DR Congo players of using voodoo during a penalty shootout in a World Cup qualifying match.

It’s not strange for headlines like these to come and go, and become forgotten in favor of the next wild claim or scandal. And while many of football’s wacky stories are no more than a desperate call for attention, sometimes they can be more sinister in nature.

Below, you’ll find some of soccer’s wildest cheats, audacious scams, and hair-brained schemes designed to profit from the beautiful game.

From fake players and sham coaches to mistaken identities, this is a roundup of some of the strangest and most unforgettable stories in world soccer.

Carlos Kaiser: The Greatest Player to Never Play

According to legend, Carlos Kaiser, now 62, used his close friendships with Brazilian stars like Carlos Alberto Torres, Ricardo Rocha, and Renato Gaúcho to open doors in professional football. Claiming to be a goalkeeper, he managed to sign a series of lucrative contracts despite essentially being unemployed as a player…because he never actually played a single match.

Puebla, Botafogo, Flamengo, Independiente (Argentina), Vasco da Gama, and even the El Paso Sixshooters were all stops in Kaiser’s “career.” As a youth player, he was considered talented, but his professionalism was another story, and clubs frequently released him at the end of short-term deals. He became notorious for inventing injuries or illnesses to avoid stepping onto the pitch. The closest he ever came to playing was at Bangu, when the starting goalkeeper got hurt. The coach told Kaiser to warm up, but before he could be subbed in, he deliberately got himself sent off to avoid playing.

To keep the scam alive, Kaiser relied on theatrics. One of the few players with a cellphone in the early ’90s, he would stage fake calls from “European clubs” or “agents” — enough to convince teams to extend his contract for fear of losing him on a free transfer.

In 2018, a documentary about his career premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The MetroStars and the Palacios Mix-Up

Image via MetroFanatic

The MetroStars have had their fair share of head-scratching transfer decisions, but one from 1998 stands out. After a disappointing 1997 season, the club hit the reset button and brought in Colombian defender Arley Palacios from Independiente Medellín, hoping he would be a commanding presence in the back, as he was a player with experience and real national team potential.

What arrived on the pitch, however, was a far more average version of that scouting report.

Before long, fans and media started speculating that maybe the MetroStars had aimed for the wrong Palacios. Arley’s brother, Ever Palacios — taller, stronger, and a rising star — went on to represent Colombia at the 1998 World Cup in France. Meanwhile, Arley struggled to make an impression in MLS.

Adding fuel to the confusion, the 1998 MetroStars yearbook incorrectly credited Arley with appearances for the Colombian national team, convincing many supporters that the club had accidentally signed the wrong brother. Whether miscommunication or misidentification, the result was the same: a transfer that became the stuff of MetroStars lore.

Hello, I’m George Weah’s Cousin

England loves to boast about its football IQ — yet even the mighty Southampton once fell for one of the sport’s greatest scams. The mastermind? Ali Dia, a player whose biggest talent wasn’t on the pitch, but on the phone.

Dia (or someone helping him) rang up manager Graeme Souness pretending to be George Weah — yes, the Ballon d’Or winner and future Liberian president. The caller spun a convincing tale: Dia was Weah’s cousin, had played for PSG, and already represented Liberia at the international level. A golden opportunity, or so it seemed.

Souness didn’t question a thing. After a light training session that somehow didn’t raise any red flags, he handed Dia a short-term contract. Days later, an injury to Matt Le Tissier thrust the new signing into a Premier League match against Leeds United. What followed was unforgettable — for all the wrong reasons. Dia chased the ball like he’d won a contest to be there, slipping, misjudging passes, and looking utterly lost. Before full time, Souness yanked him back off the field.

The next morning, Dia vanished — contract scrapped, locker cleaned out, scam exposed. His brief cameo instantly entered legend as the most bizarre con ever pulled in top-flight football.

Dia somehow played around 30 professional games in his career and even scored a handful of goals. Not bad for a player who never should’ve been anywhere near the Premier League.

Byron Castillo: The Ecuadorian Who Almost Wasn’t

Byron Castillo was a fixture on the Ecuadorian national team, but his career nearly became a scandal off the pitch. Born in Colombia in 1995, he was registered as Ecuadorian, allowing him to play domestically and for the national team.

The discrepancy sparked a challenge from Chile, who argued that Ecuador had fielded an ineligible player in World Cup qualifiers — a move that could have cost Ecuador a World Cup spot. After investigation, FIFA and CAS ruled Castillo eligible, though Ecuador was fined and sanctioned for the improper paperwork.

To avoid further controversy, Castillo was left out of the 2022 World Cup squad. His story became a reminder that in South American football, even the best talent can be overshadowed by paperwork.

Gabriel Montaño: The Identity Fiasco

Bolivia’s football scene was rocked when Gabriel Montaño received a two-year ban for falsifying his identity. His true name is Diego Hernán Montaño, and he was really six years older than he had claimed to be.

The scandal didn’t stop with the player. Club Aurora was penalized with a 33-point deduction, while club president Jaime Cornejo was suspended for three years for his part in the deception.

The most shocking twist? Montaño had been impersonating his deceased brother, turning a personal lie into a dark controversy.

Matko Miljevic: The Midfielder Who Nearly Lost It All

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Matko Miljevic once carried the promise of a bright future with CF Montréal, but his path took a wildly unexpected turn. Struggling to find playing time, he decided to suit up in a local amateur league under a false name — whether to stay sharp or just pass the time, no one knows.

Trouble came quickly. In a match, Miljevic threw a punch at an opponent, earning a lifetime ban from the recreational league. The fallout was swift: Major League Soccer terminated his contract with CF Montréal for conduct deemed harmful to the league.

Yet Miljevic didn’t vanish. The Florida-born midfielder rebuilt his career with Newell’s Old Boys and is now playing for Huracán in Argentina. Even more remarkable, he earned two caps and scored for the United States men’s national team in Mauricio Pochettino’s early matches as manager.

The Fake Coach

Uruguayan Jorge Aude enjoyed a long coaching career until the world discovered the truth: he wasn’t actually a qualified coach. Aude had falsified his coaching diploma, yet managed clubs like Huracán Buceo and even took the helm of El Salvador’s national team before the scandal broke in 2000.

Remarkably, he continued to coach professionally until 2004, even after the revelation, and briefly returned in 2015 with Torque. Still, the controversy left a permanent stain on his reputation, a reminder that in football, credentials matter as much as skill.

Grégoire Akcelrod: The Fake Footballer Who Almost Made It

Born in 1982 in France, Grégoire Akcelrod dreamed of being a professional footballer. But his skills weren’t enough. Instead of giving up, Akcelrod created a fake football résumé. He claimed to have played for PSG’s reserves, doctored match reports, and even took staged photos at Parc des Princes. He sent this to clubs across Europe, landing trials at teams like Swindon Town, AFC Bournemouth, and Norwich.

His boldest moment came in 2009 when CSKA Sofia, a top Bulgarian club, nearly signed him. But a fan uncovered his fake profile and the deal collapsed. Today, Akcelrod is a agent and author.