Top football agent Aidy Ward is under investigation by the Football Association.
Liverpool star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a client of Ward and his Colossal Sports Management agency, and The Times are reporting Ward is being investigated over alleged FA rule breaches that he "paid the parent of an England youth player £10,000 to join his agency before the permitted age".
Agents cannot approach players or families until the year the player turns 16 - and Ward could be banned if the claims are proven.
A spokesman for Ward said the allegations put to him by The Times were not accepted, and declined to comment further.
The rules state: “Prior to the 1st January of the year of a player’s sixteenth birthday, an intermediary shall not, whether directly or indirectly: (i) make an approach to a player to enter into a representation contract (including any agreement to enter into a representation contract in the future).”
Famously, Ward became Raheem Sterling's agent when the winger was 16 and facilitated his move from Liverpool to Manchester City.
However, the pair split ways at the start of this year - though Ward can also count the likes of Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman among his clientele.
