Jamal Musiala (born 26 February 2003) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

and the Germany national team. Nicknamed " Bambi", Musiala is known for his world-class dribbling ability and is often considered one of the best young attackers in the world. Born in Germany to a Nigerian father and German mother, he was raised from the age of seven in England. Musiala represented both Germany and England at youth level, and eventually pledged his allegiance to the Germany national team for future games in February 2021, representing the side at UEFA Euro 2020 and the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

Early life

Musiala was born in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, Germany to a British-Nigerian

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...

father and German mother of Polish roots. He lived in

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

until the age of seven, before moving to England with his family, where he remained for the rest of his childhood. He went to primary school at the Corpus Christi School in New Malden. For secondary school he went to the Whitgift School in Croydon. He was in the

Chelsea academy Chelsea Academy is a coeducational Church of England secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the Chelsea area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. The school was established in 2009 u ...

for the last years of his childhood.

Club career

2019–20: Move to Bayern Munich and debut

In July 2019, aged 16, Musiala left Chelsea to join Bundesliga club

. On 3 June 2020, Musiala made his professional debut, coming on as a substitute for Bayern Munich II in their 3–2 win over Preußen Münster in the

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

. On 20 June 2020, he made his Bundesliga debut against SC Freiburg, and he became the youngest player to play a match for Bayern in the Bundesliga, aged 17 years and 115 days. Musiala was a part of the squad that won the

2019–20 UEFA Champions League The 2019–20 UEFA Champions League was the 65th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 28th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Bayern Munich d ...

, although he did not make any appearances in the tournament.

2020–21: First-team breakthrough

On 18 September 2020, Musiala scored his first Bundesliga goal in an 8–0 win over

Schalke Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rh ...

, to become Bayern's youngest goalscorer, aged 17 years 205 days, breaking the previous record of

Roque Santa Cruz Roque Luis Santa Cruz Cantero (; born 16 August 1981) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Paraguayan club Club Libertad. He is the record goal scorer and has earned over 100 caps for the Paraguay national team ...

, aged 18 years 12 days. On 3 November, Musiala made his Champions League debut as a substitute to Thomas Müller in a 6–2 away win over Red Bull Salzburg. On 1 December, he started his first Champions League match in a 1–1 away draw against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. On 23 February 2021, Musiala scored his first Champions League goal in a 4–1 away win over Lazio in the first leg of the round of 16 tie, becoming the competition's youngest goalscorer of both English and German nationalities. On 5 March, he signed his first professional contract at Bayern Munich until 2026.

2021–22

On 25 August 2021, Musiala scored his first two goals of the season in a 12–0 DFB Pokal away win over Bremer SV. Three days later, he then scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season in a 5–0 win over

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

. On 8 December 2021, Musiala scored his first Champions League goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Barcelona. On 23 April 2022, Musiala's strike sealed the title in a 3–1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in

Der Klassiker Der Klassiker in German ''(The Classic)'', also known as the "German Clásico", is the name given in football to any match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. They are two of the most successful teams in German football, having won a c ...

, giving Bayern their tenth straight Bundesliga title.

2022–23

On 27 May 2023, Musiala scored the winning goal in the 89th minute in a 2–1 away victory over FC Köln, to clinch the 11th consecutive league title for his club ahead of rivals Borussia Dortmund on goal difference. Moreover, he finished the season as Bayern's second top scorer in the league with 12 goals, behind Serge Gnabry.

International career

Musiala, who was also eligible to play for Nigeria via his father, represented both England and Germany at youth international level.

Youth

In November 2020, Musiala was called up to the

England under-21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the cale ...

squad for the first time for their

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 footballtournament that determined the 14 teams that would be joining the automatically qualified co-hosts Hungary and Slovenia in the 2021 UEFA European Unde ...

matches. He made his U21 debut as a substitute during a 3–1 victory over Andorra under-21s at

Molineux Stadium Molineux Stadium ( ) in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, has been the home ground of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers since 1889. The first stadium built for use by a Football League club, it was one of the first British grounds ...

on 13 November 2020. He scored his first under-21 goal during a 5–0 win over Albania at Molineux Stadium on 17 November 2020. After choosing to represent England's under-21s, the German football association indicated that they had stopped pursuing Musiala, with youth team coach Meikel Schonweitz stating: "He has clearly signalled to us that he currently sees his future with the English national teams. We accept his decision and wish him all the best for his sporting career." Musiala had previously indicated that he felt more comfortable playing for England at youth level than for Germany, as he grew up as a footballer at Chelsea with other English players, whereas for Germany he did not know any of the other players.

Senior

On 24 February 2021, Musiala announced he had decided to represent his birth nation, Germany, for full international matches. He subsequently received his first call up to the senior team for

qualifiers in March 2021, making his debut on 25 March 2021 as a 79th minute substitute in a 3–0 win against Iceland.

Euro 2020

On 19 May 2021, Musiala was selected to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. On 23 June 2021, he became the youngest German player to feature in a major tournament in a 2–2 draw with Hungary in Euro 2020, aged 18 years and 117 days. During the match, Musiala set up Leon Goretzka's late equalizer which sent Germany through to the round of 16. In doing so, he received praise from pundits and fans worldwide.

2022 World Cup qualification

On 11 October 2021, Musiala scored his first goal in a 4–0 win over North Macedonia during the 2022 World Cup qualification, becoming the second-youngest player to score for Germany, aged 18 years and 227 days, only behind

Marius Hiller Marius Hiller, also known as Eduardo Hiller (5 August 1892 – 17 October 1964), was a footballer who played international football for both Germany and Argentina. He was the nephew of fellow German international Arthur Hiller. In Germany he pla ...

, aged 17 years and 241 days, in 1910.

2022 World Cup

On 10 November 2022, Musiala received a call-up for the

in Qatar. On 23 November, he made his World Cup debut by starting against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, to become the first German teenager to feature in the competition since 1958, and the fourth youngest German player, aged 19 years and 270 days, in all World Cup participations, only behind: Karl-Heinz Schnellinger,

Leopold Neumer Leopold Neumer (8 February 1919 – 19 March 1990) was an Austrian-German football striker. Career He earned 4 caps and scored 2 goals for the Austria national football team. After the annexation of Austria by Germany, he earned 1 cap for the Ge ...

and

Edmund Conen Edmund Conen (10 November 1914 – 5 March 1990) was a German footballer who played as a striker. Career Conen was born in Ürzig, Germany. He played with FV 03 Saarbrücken, Stuttgarter Kickers, Mülhausen 93, HSV Groß Born (Pommern) and a ...

. In the same match,

Youssoufa Moukoko Youssoufa Moukoko (born 20 November 2004) is a German professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team. He is known for his scoring ability at younger age levels. Club career ...

was subbed on in the 90th minute, to be the youngest ever, and Musiala became the fifth. On 1 December, he completed 13 dribbles, two shy of

Jay-Jay Okocha Augustine Azuka Okocha ( ; born 14 August 1973), commonly known as Jay-Jay Okocha, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played 73 times for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scorin ...

's record of 15 in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, in a 4–2 win over

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, yet Germany was eliminated from the group stage as they finished third in their group.

Style of play

As a versatile player, Musiala plays both on the wings and at all positions of the midfield. According to

Hansi Flick Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick (born 24 February 1965) is a German professional football coach and former player who is the manager of the Germany national team. From August 2006 to July 2014, he was the assistant coach of Germany under manager Joac ...

, who gave Musiala his debut at FC Bayern Munich, "He has a great eye and feeling for choosing the right spaces. He is very confident on the ball and can play well between the lines."

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Germany score listed first, score column indicates score after each Musiala goal''

Honours

Bayern Munich * Bundesliga: 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2021–22, 2022–23 * DFL-Supercup:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

* UEFA Super Cup:

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

Individual * IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2021 * Bundesliga Rookie of the Month: April 2021 * Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23 * '' kicker'' Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2021–22 * Germany national Player of the Year: 2022

References

External links

Profile
at the FC Bayern Munich website
Profile
at the German Football Association website {{DEFAULTSORT:Musiala, Jamal 2003 births Living people Footballers from Stuttgart English footballers German footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Bayern Munich footballers FC Bayern Munich II players 3. Liga players Bundesliga players England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Germany men's youth international footballers Germany men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players English people of German descent English sportspeople of Nigerian descent English people of Yoruba descent English people of Polish descent German sportspeople of Nigerian descent German people of Yoruba descent German people of Polish descent German emigrants to England