A MAN has been charged with committing credit card fraud while pretending to be a Premier League footballer.
Medi Abalimba, 25, allegedly masqueraded as Chelsea winger, Gael Kakuta, and ran up a tab of around £5,000 at a nightclub in Manchester city centre over the weekend of June 14 and 15.
The defendant is then said to have again pretended to be the 23-year-old France youth international and attempted to buy clothing worth more than £20,000 from a store at the Trafford Centre between July 1 and 3.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "On August 11, Medi Abalimba, of Burton Street, London was charged with several credit card fraud offences.
"He appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on the same morning and was remanded into custody."
Kakuta signed for Chelsea in 2007 but has only made six senior appearances for the club.
He has joined Spanish team Rayo Vallecano on loan for the 2014/15 season and has had previous loan spells at Fulham and Bolton Wanderers.
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