Jamal Musiala

Jamal Musiala (born 26 February 2003) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team.

Nicknamed "Bambi", for his incredible dribbling ability, he is considered to be one of the best young players in the world.

Born in Germany to a Nigerian father and German mother, he was raised from the age of seven in England.

Musiala played for both Germany and England national teams at the youth level, and eventually pledged his allegiance to the German Football Association for future games in February 2021, representing the side at Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Musiala was born in Stuttgart, Germany to a British-Nigerian Yoruba father and German mother with Polish roots.

He lived in Fulda 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 for the last years of his childhood.

This goal clinched the 11th consecutive league title for his club again ahead of rivals Dortmund on goal difference.

Moreover, he finished the season as Bayern's second top scorer in the league with 12 goals, behind Serge Gnabry.

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

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

Musiala was a part of the squad that won the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, although he did not make any appearances in the tournament.

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.

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.

On 18 September 2020, Musiala scored his first Bundesliga goal in an 8–0 win over Schalke, to become Bayern's youngest goalscorer, aged 17 years and 205 days, breaking the previous record of Roque Santa Cruz, aged 18 years and 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 in his first Champions League match in a 1–1 away draw against Atlético Madrid.

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 of the knockout phase, becoming the competition's youngest goalscorer of both English and German nationalities.

He also became Bayern's youngest goalscorer in the European competition, aged 17 years and 363 days, breaking previous record by Samuel Kuffour.

On 5 March, he signed his first professional contract with Bayern Munich until 2026.

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 home win over Hertha BSC.

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 Bundesliga title in a 3–1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker, giving Bayern their tenth straight Bundesliga title.

On 27 May 2023, Musiala scored the winning goal in the 89th minute in a 2–1 away victory over FC Köln.

In November 2020, Musiala was called up to the England U21 squad for the first time for their 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches.

He made his U21 debut as a substitute during a 3–1 victory over the Andorra U21s at Molineux Stadium on 13 November 2020.

He scored his first under-21 goal during a 5–0 win over Albania also at Molineux Stadium on 17 November 2020.

After choosing to represent England's U21s, the German football association indicated that they had stopped pursuing Musiala, with German youth team coach Meikel Schönweitz stating: "He [Musiala] has clearly signaled 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.

On 24 February 2021, Musiala announced he had decided to represent his birth nation Germany at the international level.

He subsequently received his first call up to the senior team for the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers in March 2021, making his debut on 25 March 2021 as a 79th minute substitute in a 3–0 win against Iceland.

On 19 May 2021, Musiala was selected to the German squad for UEFA Euro 2020.

On 23 June 2021, he became the youngest German player to feature in a major tournament for the Germany national team in a 2–2 draw with Hungary, 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.

He was brought on as a substitute in the round of 16 game against England, which Germany lost.

On 11 October 2021, Musiala scored his first senior international goal in a 4–0 win over North Macedonia, becoming the second-youngest player to score for the Germany national team, aged 18 years and 227 days, only behind Marius Hiller, aged 17 years and 241 days, in 1910.

On 10 November 2022, Musiala received a call-up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.