MOTDx: Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala explains his reasons for choosing Germany over England
Jamal Musiala, 18, has managed to fit a lot into his life. He represented both countries and won a title. Now, he is helping Germany to the World Cup.
Although he was born in Germany, his mother is German and he has a British father. As a seven-year old, he moved to England to play for Chelsea's youth soccer team. He then returned home to join Bayern Munich.
He represented England at U15, U21 and U16 levels before moving to Germany to play for the senior team. Germany will be hosting Euro 2020. He scored his first international goal when they beat North Macedonia on Monday to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
Musiala played for Bayern 48 times, scoring 11 goals and winning the Bundesliga title last season.
MOTDx asked him about his life thus far.
His early years in England...
Jamal Musiala (left), represented Chelsea in a wreath-laying ceremony in Ypres, December 2014.
When I was young, I used to cry at home if I didn’t get a score.
My mother attended Southampton University and lived there for four months. I was a trialist at Southampton for a time.
Chelsea saw me at one of our games at Southampton, and offered me a trial. I was ecstatic to accept the offer.
My mum asked me if it would be possible to play football in England. It's a huge step to move from Germany, and I was excited to do it. I did not hesitate to say yes, I wanted to play football.
I was nervous. I couldn't speak the language very well. In six months, I was able to learn English.
Moving back to Germany...
Jamal Musiala won several trophies with Bayern, including the 2020 Uefa Super Cup (pictured here).
Bayern Munich presented a solid plan for me on how to move from one age group to the next, but it was not rushed. I trusted their words and followed them.
It just feels so comfortable now. It was very nerve-wracking at first, and you can see that Robert Lewandowski isn't something you would normally see.
After a while it becomes normal, and I can now say that they are my friends.
Thiago was the first person I saw when I arrived in. It was amazing to see his passing technique, but so were many other players. It's Lewandowski's finish and stuff. Joshua Kimmich's technique is also impressive. It's top-notch!
My mom still drives me to training, and she picks me up. It's okay. It's cold, but I am working on my license. It should be mine in the next few weeks.
Reprezenting Germany rather than England
Jamal Musiala scored the first international goal for Germany against North Macedonia, which secured their World Cup spot
It was hard to consider it at times. Sometimes it was more fun to think about it than make the decision. I chose Germany because it was the best place for me.
Everything is moving in the right direction. Even though England reached the [Euro 2020] final, I feel that I made the right choice. I feel no regrets.
England is still my favorite country, and I love England as well. My boys, Jude [Bellingham], his former England youth team-mate, are also Borussia Dortmund players. I wish Jude all the best. I would be happy if England did well.
Bellingham and his friendship...
We remain in touch. We've been friends since childhood. We were close friends at every England camp. It's amazing to see how far we have come. He's scoring in the Champions League and playing in the Euros.
It's great, we all change our shirts after each game, it's all very friendly, but we still want to beat one another. We used to play together at England as friends, and now we have a little bit of rivalry.
We say hello before the game, and then we focus on the game. Then after the game, we have a second conversation so it's all professional.
