Agent Mino Raiola has revealed in an interview some of the problems that Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku endured as a youngster, with his imposing size even at a young age leading to question marks over his real age.
"I was talking to his mother. She always ended up with other parents who did not think he was 12 or 14 years old. It was always a fuss that he scored three or four goals," Raiola explained.
"He was bigger and physically strong, yes. But they screamed that it was not in the right age. So she took the birth certificate.
"He was born in Belgium, but they spread false reports he been born in Africa. 'Here it is', she said."
Everyone doubted the youngster's true age and it is easy to understand why, considering that he was towing over adult referees at the age of 13.
Even today, Lukaku continues to be physically superior to many of his opponents, though not by quite as much as in the above photo.