Masal Bugduv is a 16-year-old soccer phenom in Moldova rumored to be working on a transfer to Arsenal.  He’s been profiled in Goal.com, and the Times of London ranked him #30 on it list of Football’s 50 Rising Stars.  Unfortunately for the Times, Goal.com, and other publications that have picked up on the story, he’s an Internet hoax.

We know that Masal Bugduv isn’t real because Fredorrarci did some digging, analyzed the Wikipedia history logs, dusted for fingerprints, spoke to football experts in Moldova, and discovered that Bugduv, his club (FC Tirol), and the Moldovan newspaper that publicized his story (Diario Mo Thon) are all perfectly and unimpeachably imaginary. The Bugduv drama—which included some amazingly specific details about “diplomatic issues” that were jeopardizing his transfer to Arsenal—was a wicked little practical joke, spread by false AP stories.

Fredorrarci suspects the prankster may be Irish, since Mo Thon means “my ass” in a Gaelic tongue.  Another key giveaway?  Someone actually thought “Moldova” was a real country!  What a bunch of rubes!

(thanks to Unsilent Majority)