Musiala opts to play for Germany over England

Musiala, who turns 18 on 26 February, has been at the centre of a tug of war between Germany and England after a breakthrough campaign in the Bayern first team.

The midfielder grew up in England from the age of seven and represented the Three Lions at U15, U16, U17 and U21 level. He did, though, make two appearances for Germany’s U16s in 2018 and has now made the decision to pledge his allegiance to the country of his birth, having been born in Stuttgart in 2003.

Watch: Musiala’s three Bundesliga goals to date

He confirmed the decision in an interview with German sports programme Sportschau.

“I have a heart for Germany and a heart for England. Both hearts will continue to beat. I’ve thought a lot about this question,” Musiala explained. “In the end, I listened to my feelings saying it’s the right decision to play for Germany. But it wasn’t an easy decision for me.

“I had a very good and honest discussion with [Germany head coach] Joachim Löw. He showed me a clear route into the national team. Mr Löw had clearly worked out and analysed by strengths and weaknesses. He also sees my future in my strongest position of attacking midfield and appreciates my qualities there.”

Musiala joined Bayern from youth club Chelsea as a 16-year-old in summer 2019, and his rise has been meteoric. Only weeks after making his debut for the reserves, he was handed his senior debut on the penultimate matchday of the 2019/20 season against Freiburg. Aged 17 years and 115 days, he was the youngest player to ever represent the Munich club in the Bundesliga.

Watch: Thomas Müller: "I'm very happy with Jamal Musiala"

His first Bundesliga goal came in the opening game of 2020/21 as Bayern thrashed Schalke 8-0, making him the club’s youngest-ever scorer in the league at 17 years and 205 days.

The teenager has so far made 26 appearances for the first team. His latest saw him break yet another record as Bayern’s greenest goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League when he fired home their second goal in the 4-1 win away at Lazio in the round of 16. That historic mark now stands at 17 years and 363 days.

While his performances caught the attention of England manager Gareth Southgate, it’s now Löw who has the right to call up the prodigious teenager when the March international break comes around. Germany have three qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup against Iceland, Romania and North Macedonia.

He could then get his first taste of an international tournament at the summer’s UEFA European Championship where the four-time world champions take on France, Portugal and Hungary at his home ground of the Allianz Arena in Munich.