A LITHUANIAN club have signed a former non-league striker – and appear to have been duped by doctored goalscoring heroics for QPR on his Wikipedia page.
FK Panevezys’ proudly announced Barkley Miguel-Panzo, 25, had joined them ahead of their upcoming campaign in the second tier.
But although Miguel-Panzo may have played for QPR’s youth team, Panevezys look to have fallen for fiddled Wikipedia statistics in their official announcement.
Miguel-Panzo’s page has been heavily edited over the last couple of weeks to show he scored 45 goals in 36 games for the Loftus Road club between 2010 and 2012.
A previous edit shows a record of 24 goals in 36 appearances over that period, suggesting big-money move might have been on the cards.
But the best it got for him in England was the fifth tier with Woking – although he possibly won three caps for Angola.
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Panevezys announced: “The player began his professional career in England at the Queens Park Rangers club.
“In the 2010-2012 season, representing the QPR team in the Championship, Panzo played 36 matches with 24 goals.
“After that, the footballer had to play with Sarlat Marcillac, Moulins, Brevinois Foot, Les Sables-d’Olonne and Orleans.”
Databases appear to suggest he did play for those five French clubs over four years.
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But there is no record at all of Miguel-Panzo playing for QPR – let alone netting the kind of numbers that make Rodney Marsh and Les Ferdinand envious, especially given he would have been a teenager at the time.
However, an old Instagram post tagged at Loftus Road shows him alongside ex-Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, suggesting he did at least set foot inside the stadium.
Speaking to a French football website in October, he was asked for his memories of being at QPR.
He said: “I only remember happiness, especially the club’s rise in the Premier League.
“It was a very good human and sporting experience. I must also confess that being a very young boy abroad, alone in the face of my difficulties and perhaps badly advised, I logically begin to feel miss my family and my friends.”
No mention of those 24 goals, though.
Before a five-month spell at Woking, Miguel-Panzo had stints at Hendon, Hillingdon, Northwood and Cambridge City.
In any case, he seemed to have left a good impression on his new boss following his latest pair of clubs in Sweden.
Alexander Kurtian beamed: “It appears that the player has played at high-level championships.
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“The footballer is versatile, he can successfully play both as a midfielder or winger.
“The team was lacking such a player in attack, so an agreement was reached with him.”
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While there is no suggestion he has signed based on any incorrect information, the episode evokes memories of Graeme Souness’ legendary signing for Southampton.
Then again, even Ali Dia might have done a job in the Lithuanian second division.