Jamal Musiala confirms he will represent Germany, not England

Musiala has declared for Germany, despite being capped by England up to Under-21 level

Bayern Munich youngster Jamal Musiala has confirmed that he has chosen to represent Germany at senior level, despite being capped for England youth and Under-21 sides. The midfielder turns 18 later this week and scored his first Champions League goal in the European champions' 4-1 win away to Lazio on Tuesday night. He was born in Stuttgart but moved to England as a seven-year-old, spending time with Southampton's junior sides before later joining Chelsea's academy. He represented England Under-15s as a 13-year-old, also pulling on a Three Lions shirt at Under-16 level before switching to Germany Under-16s in October 2018. He went on to play for England sides again at Under-17 and Under-21 level. Having returned to the country of his birth two years ago, signing for Bayern, Musiala has now confirmed that he has opted to play for Germany in the future. Speaking to The Athletic's Raphael Honigstein, the teenager admitted that his ties to England made it a difficult decision, but after careful consideration, he decided his footballing allegiances lie with Germany.

"I've thought about this question [which country to play for] a lot," he says. "What is best for my future? Where do I have more chances to play? "In the end, I just listened to the feeling that over a long period of time kept telling me that it was the right decision to play for Germany, the land I was born in. "Still, it wasn't an easy decision for me."

The same article states how Bayern teammates Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry were constantly trying to persuade Musiala to declare for Germany over England, with national team boss Joachim Low also meeting him in January to convince him there was a clear pathway laid out for him to break into the German midfield.

---