But he is now accused of pretending to be 19 when he is actually 28

Yaffa, from Ghana, went on to represent the team's U19 team multiple times

He arrived in north Italy in 2009, after which he was signed by AC Milan

It is alleged Yusupha Yaffa lied about his age on asylum registration papers

An asylum seeker from Africa duped AC Milan into signing him into their youth team by pretending he is 19 when he is in fact 28, it has been claimed.

Italian authorities say Yusupha Yaffa said he lost his identity papers during the asylum registration process with his father in 2009, and put his birth date at 1996 when it was actually 1987.

Remarkably, this would have made him 22 when he underwent the process while successfully pretending to be a 13-year-old.

Yusupha Yaffa (pictured when he was unveiled on loan to MSV Duisburg), is alleged to have lied about his age when he arrived in Italy in 2009 by claiming he was nine years younger than he actually is

The promising footballer from Ghana was then signed by the Italian club in 2013 and played multiple times for the Under 19s - making him either 16 or 25 at the time he took up the contract.

Now living in Germany and registered to Eintracht Frankfurt, he is facing a charge of fraud from his former Italian club, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported.

He denies the charge and former coach and AC Milan legend Filippo Inzaghi could be required to attend a trial, as could club executives Adriano Galliani and Barbara Berlusconi.

According to the paper, the investigation began after he made comments on Facebook about his previous schooling which were unusual for someone his age.

The legal woes are not the first Yaffa has faced - in January 2015 he was arrested for rape following an incident at a team mate's home.

In the days following the arrest, parent club Eintracht Frankfurt posted a 100,000 Euro bail which meant he only spent one night in custody.

However, if true, today's revelation could mean that instead of being treated by the juvenile court, his paperwork would be handed over to the regular court where he will be considered an adult.

He could then face a much higher sentence if convicted.