Jamal Musiala

Early life

Musiala was born in Stuttgart, Germany, to his Nigerian-British father Daniel Richard and German mother with Polish roots, Carolin Musiala. He lived in Fulda until age 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, and represented the school on behalf of a succession of local football clubs, including Fulham, Brentford, and Wimbledon in the EFL Utilita Kids Cup, winning the competition twice. For secondary school, he went to the Whitgift School in Croydon. Musiala spent the last years of his childhood at Chelsea Academy where he met Michael Olise.

Musiala has played for both Germany and England national teams at youth level, and eventually pledged his allegiance to the German Football Association in February 2021. At age 16, Musiala and his mother returned to Germany for personal reasons and the impending Brexit.

Club career

Bayern Munich

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

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 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. 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.

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 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.

Senior

On 24 February 2021, Musiala announced he had decided to represent his mother's nation and his birth nation Germany at the international level. He subsequently received his first call up to the senior team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in March 2021, making his debut on 25 March 2021 as a 79th minute substitute in a 3–0 win against Iceland. According to former Germany coach Joachim Löw, he promised Musiala a call-up for the UEFA Euro 2020 if he chooses Germany over England. Löw said "It was the only time in my time as national team coach that I made a promise to a player: Even though he wasn't a regular at Bayern, I told him that if he chose us, he would definitely be playing at Euro 2020 in the summer."

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.

While with the team for Euro 2020, Musiala received the nickname "Bambi" from teammate Leroy Sané due to his youth and kindly demeanor. While Musiala has since suggested that he has outgrown the nickname, it remains popular with fans.

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. On 23 November, he made his World Cup debut by starting against Japan, 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 and Edmund Conen. In the same match, Youssoufa Moukoko was subbed on in the 90th minute, to be the youngest ever, and Musiala then became the fifth. On 1 December, he completed 13 dribbles, two shy of Jay-Jay Okocha's record of 15 in 1994, in a 4–2 win over Costa Rica, yet Germany were eliminated in the group stage for the second successive World Cup as they finished third in their group.

Style of play

A versatile player, Musiala can play in any attacking or midfield position, though he prefers to play on the left side of the field. Musiala is known for his close-control dribbling and can beat opponents with feints and tricks. He is also known for his vision and accurate passing. Hansi Flick, his former coach at Bayern Munich, stated, "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." Musiala has been widely described as one of the best young players in the world.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 September 2026

International

As of match played 29 June 2026

As of match played 14 June 2026

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

Honours

Bayern Munich

Bundesliga: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024–25, 2025–26

DFB-Pokal: 2025–26

DFL-Supercup: 2020, 2021, 2022

UEFA Champions League: 2019–20

UEFA Super Cup: 2020

FIFA Club World Cup: 2020

Bayern Munich II

3. Liga: 2019–20

Individual

IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2021, 2022, 2023

Bundesliga Rookie of the Month: April 2021

Bundesliga Goal of the Month: March 2024, November 2024, February 2025

Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25

kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2021–22, 2022–23

VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25

Germany national Player of the Year: 2022, 2024

Kopa Trophy runner-up: 2023

UEFA European Championship top scorer: 2024 (shared)

UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2024