You’re a genuine blue-collar, nine to five worker whose ultimate passion is, of course, football. Stuck in a traffic jam on the way home, your thoughts fly far away, imagining yourself as one of that superrich football stars sunbathing on a yacht in the Mediterranean Sea with your little entourage. Man, if I could just smell a taste of it for a day, it comes across your mind as some vocal driver swears at your rearview for not moving in that neverending row.There’s just that one obstacle on the way to reaching those heights and carefree life – you’re anything but a talented player. In fact, you’re so lousy in a football game that even those semi-pro sides won’t sign you in a lifetime.So, what’s your ticket for that yacht?Blades star convicted for crashing his luxury sports car – and then lying about itMaybe Gregoire Akcelrod has the answer. This Frenchman was deprived of any hope of becoming a pro once his father slammed him at the age of 10 for a deplorable performance during one five-a-side match. A few years later, he was working at McDonald’s when he suddenly came up with an idea of how to turn the tables thoroughly. Not in Mc, of course…Greg, who was playing for the PSG amateur team in one of the lowest divisions in France at that time, created a fake website.The Frenchman created a fake website which included false match reports and information (©SC)Instead of training and improving his football skills, he decided to lie. In 2003, the internet was still in the toddler’s phase, especially in the world of professional footballer’s and their presentations, so Akclerod filled his own with some utterly crazy stuff.The page was filled with loads of chronicles and articles praising his football. The secret? Akcelrod has copied the reports of L’Equipe that speak of Nicolas Anelka and replaced Anelka’s with his name.As you see, the resemblance is striking hahah… (©Robert Pratta-Reuters)Thanks to those reports, he begins to contact clubs in England. The greats like Arsenal, Manchester City or Chelsea rejected him politely, but second-tier side Swindon Town gave him a shot in 2003.What a classy ‘No’ that was… (©Gregoire Akcelrod official website)”On the first day of the trial, I was so unfit physically, and tactically I was lost,” Akcelrod recalled…”In the practice game, the goalkeeper hit a long ball, I tried to head it, but it hit me square in the face. Everybody laughed.”Professional clubs in Luxembourg offered Akcelrod a contract, but the Frenchman turned them down – they were too ‘small’ for him. So he returned (no one knows how) for the another trial at Swindon in 2007.The right offer nearly came in the summer of 2009, when Akcelrod was asked to train at Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia, who had just qualified for the Champions League.Convinced he was a PSG reserve team player, CSKA offered him a three-year contract worth £15,000-a-month, but the internet – now spread across the entire Old Continent – spoiled it all for him.CSKA Sofia announced Akcelrod’s transfer and took official photos before realising the scam (©Gregoire Akcelrod official website)”I did the two-day trial, and on Sunday, the coach told my agent that he wanted to sign me. They took photos of me in the CKSA official jersey. I signed the contract they published on the CSKA website that I was signing. “However, one CSKA fan contacts a PSG fan forum and asks for me… Nobody heard of me, of course. They said I was fake, and they checked my website. But some of it was true, the video at Swindon, for example.”That CSKA fan contacted every journalist in Sofia, and it was revealed the club were going to sign a fake player.”09.01. SUN: 22.45: (5.00) OLYMPIQUE LYON (4.00) PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (1.73)When Akcelrod came down for breakfast on Monday morning, nobody from CSKA wanted to know him anymore, and he was asked to head back to France.The Frenchman then had other tests in Kuwait, Greece, Canada… To be precise, he pursued trials with 22 professional clubs in some nineteen countries across five continents in around ten years.Gregoire Akcelrod (@GAkcelrod) el futbolista que gairebé es cola a la Champions League ⚽️🏆🌐 Descobreix-ne més 👉 https://t.co/cFxoDlYq59 pic.twitter.com/t6czGp8HcO— Dona Secret (@donasecret) December 7, 2021 Gregoire Ackelrod will be 40 soon and is currently working as an agent for young players who want to join big teams. No cheats upon the sleaves.In a recent interview with Vice, he affirmed that he has always been better in marketing than in football and that everything he did, “he did it because life is a game”. In addition, he has written a book entitled “Professional at all costs”, in which he narrates his tremendous journey.07.01. FRI: (19.0) SWINDON (11.0) MANCHESTER CITY (1.10)If you’re reading this article while stuck in rush-hour, you must learn from Greg’s mistake – never, ever engage in a football scam unless you have a fan forum army to support that lie of yours ;)Happy New Year!By: Bojan Babic
