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News report claims Falcao is 29, not 27

Radamel Falcao could face questions about his true birth date © Getty Images

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There is concern in Colombia after documents emerged that suggest striker Radamel Falcao, one of the sport's most expensive players, is actually two years older than he has been claiming.

Falcao recently moved from Atletico Madrid to Monaco for £53 million - the seventh biggest transfer deal in history - but may now face some awkward questions from his new employers, after it was reported that he is 29 rather than 27 as he is registered with FIFA.

Colombian news agency Noticias Unos uncovered primary school documentation that listed Falcao's birthday as February 10, 1984 - two years before his FIFA listed birth date of February 10, 1986.

Further documents indicated Falcao had undergone 'pre-school transition' (a program for five-year-olds), a practice that was abandoned before 1991.

Documents from one of Falcao's primary schools, Colegio San Pedro Claver de Bucaramanga, also suggest the former Porto forward was born in San Martin, not Bogota. The evidence is accompanied by a photograph of a boy who would appear to have at least a passing resemblance to the player.

Contacted by Noticias Unos, Falcao's father blamed a clerical error on the part of the school for the confusion, insisting his son was born in 1986. Reporters also tracked down Falcao's grandmother, who could confirm he was born on February 10 but struggled to remember which year.

Falcao has already got off to an inauspicious start to life at Monaco - being substituted at half-time on his debut by manager Claudio Ranieri, after a series of ugly tackles earned him a booking in a friendly against Augsburg.

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