What does Youssoufa Moukoko actually do? The former prodigy now plays in Denmark, at FC Copenhagen. His new club now faces Borussia Dortmund. Of all things.
So now against Borussia Dortmund. His youth club. In whose youth department Youssoufa Moukoko once broke one goal record after another. Where he was elevated to heaven as a supposed child prodigy and, at 16, became the youngest Bundesliga player ever. And where he subsequently sank into the sea of insignificance in the professional department.
With his new club FC Copenhagen, Moukoko will play against BVB in the Champions League on Tuesday (October 21, 2025). There could hardly be a better date to show a strong performance again.
Doubts about age
Moukoko is now 20 years old. At least that’s what it says in the papers. Doubts are allowed. For years there has been speculation that Moukoko could actually be up to four years older. No matter how old he is, one thing is certain: his development is stagnating. For years now. The most recent low point: Moukoko’s Champions League appearance for FC Copenhagen against Qarabag Agdam (0:2). Nothing, absolutely nothing, wanted to succeed for the former young star.
“I’ll get out of this, I know it”says the youngest Bundesliga player in history in a kicker interview about his latest dip in form. Before the reunion with Borussia Dortmund, Moukoko has four goals in 20 appearances for FC Copenhagen.
New low in form in Copenhagen
“I am my biggest critic. I know that this is not my level”says Moukoko and emphasizes: “I know I will help this team.” I have it “Probably everyone expects me to go to Denmark and destroy the league, but I almost never played 90 minutes for two years. Then suddenly playing every three days is a bummer.”
Moukoko’s story could also be good material for a cinema drama. As a 12-year-old, he played for Borussia Dortmund in the U17 Bundesliga, where he broke all records and was celebrated as an “exceptional talent” and “prodigy”. At just 14 years old, the youngster landed his first million-dollar contract with sports manufacturer Nike, and at 16 he became the youngest Bundesliga and Champions League debutant of all time.
In the BVB squad at 15
For the 2020/21 season, the then 15-year-old Moukoko moved up to Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga squad. BVB made a special application to the German Football League (DFL) to ensure that the statutes that set a minimum age of 17 for Bundesliga players were repealed for them. He made his debut in the German elite class one day after his 16th birthday in November 2020 in a 5-2 win against Hertha BSC, making him the youngest Bundesliga player of all time.
Youngest Bundesliga player to wear the BVB jersey
However, entering the professional class completely demystified the hype that had surrounded Moukoko since his childhood. He had difficulty asserting himself at BVB and felt he was being treated unfairly as a substitute player. Only in the first half of the 2022/23 season did he see a brief upswing, which was even followed by a nomination for the national team and participation in the World Cup in Qatar. Thereafter? Crash. And the sorting out at BVB.
Loan to Nice 2024
Moukoko was loaned to Nice ahead of the 2024/25 season. But even at OGC, the performance remained pale; the French did not exercise the agreed purchase option in the summer of 2025. It was only with FC Copenhagen that Dortmund finally found a buyer, who bought Moukoko out of his current BVB contract for around five million euros.
Moukoko was recently no longer nominated by coach Antonio di Salvo for the German U21 national team, for which he is still eligible to play. “Now it’s the case that after a long time he has found a club where he has slowly arrived”said di Salvo at the beginning of September after Moukoko and his club eliminated FC Basel in the Champions League qualification.
U21-National team out of reach
Even in the German U21, Moukoko has slipped back into the second tier, di Salvo comments cautiously: “Youssoufa is a player who, if he shows his performance at the club, will logically continue to be on my list.”
National team – far away for Moukoko.
Moukoko thinks: The time in France helped him a lot on the way to finding himself. “Many people won’t understand when I say this, but Nice was the best thing that could have happened to me”reported Moukoko about the loan last season. “In Nice I learned to be patient, to control my emotions and not to point fingers at other people”Moukoko added: “In Dortmund it was always the coach’s fault when I didn’t play. In Nice I learned to blame myself before looking at others.”
It’s clear: Moukoko is under special observation against BVB. The game against his former club should be a very special one – if he has his way.