Several media outlets tricked by fake player

There’s been a lot of buzz around 16-year-old Moldavan attacker Masal Bugduv of late - The Times listed the fledgling FC Olimpia Bălţi star at number 30 in their list of the 50 hottest footballing talents, while Goal.com reported a keen interest from Arsenal.

There’s just one problem - the player doesn’t actually exist:

Goal.com would like to apologise for any confusion over the snippet of information we published over phantom prodigy Masal Bugduv, who is apparently as elusive as a home win at Stamford Bridge recently. We received information from a fake Associated Press report, and we are sorry to pass this on. Still, unlike some publications we did not even begin to imply that we had watched him play - merely that he was in a provisional squad list and was attracting attention, as per the (forged) AP report.

The Guardian have galloped in on their high horse to chuckle at those who were duped by what sounds like a plausible AP release, and the excellent Fiver have even found a way of getting a cheeky mention on the FC Olimpia Bălţi Wikipedia page.

Despite his lack of existence, Harry Redknapp and Mark Hughes are said to be battling it out for his signature.