At just 22 years of age, Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala has established himself as one of the most exciting players in world football. - © IMAGO/Bernd Feil/M.i.S.

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Jamal Musiala: 10 things on Bayern Munich's midfield magician

26.02.2025

Having only just turned 22, Jamal Musiala has already enjoyed the sort of success many would be proud of over the span of an entire career. There are still plenty more records for Bayern Munich's creative dynamo to break, having recently penned a long-term contract extension too. bundesliga.com has more on the record champions' serial record breaker...

Data correct as of 26 February 2025

1) A Three Lions' cub

Jamal Musiala was born in Stuttgart to British-Nigerian father Daniel and German mother Caroline. Moving to England at the age of seven, he joined Southampton FC's academy in 2010, before making the switch to Chelsea FC's Cobham Training Centre just a year later.Remaining in London until the age of 16, Musiala was elligible to play in the England national team youth set-up, representing the Young Lions from U15 through to U21 level.

In 2019, Cobham was traded for Munich's Säbener Straße by the 17-year-old Musiala, who continued to represent England before deciding to swap to the German set-up in early 2021. The rest is history, as just a matter of months later, Musiala was a fully-capped German international, aged 18. However, Bayern's No. 42 remains close friends with former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, saying of England: "My boys are there; Jude is always wishing me the best. We're still very good friends and every England camp we were always together."

Watch: Jamal Musiala's Bundesliga Mixtape!

2) Bayern's youngest centurion

The adage of an 'old head on young shoulders' is certainly one that applies to Musiala. In the 2023/24 season, the Bayern 'youngster' (if that's a handle which still applies) passed a particularly impressive milestone, starting in a 1-0 victory over Union Berlin to become the youngest ever Bayern Munich player to make 100 Bundesliga appearances, aged just 20.

Now on 134 Bundesliga appearances for the record champions, the midfielder has racked up an impressive 44 goals and 27 assists in that time for an astounding goal involvement on average every 110 minutes. Not a bad record to have accrued before your 22nd birthday...

3) Record-breaking goalscorer

Whilst the list of individual records broken by Bayern's No. 42 feels a mile long, one which particularly catches the eye is his status as the youngest-ever goalscorer at the Munich club. At the age of 17 years and 205 days, he smashed the record set by the 18-year-old Roque Santa Cruz, with the last goal in an 8-0 win over Schalke on the opening day of the 2020/21 season, latching onto a Robert Lewandowski assist before beating his man to slot home at the near post.

Continuing to amass a reservoir of 'youngest ever' accolades, Musiala added another as he became Bayern's record youngest goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League in February 2021, grabbing the second in a 4-1 away thrashing of Lazio with a superb low finish from the edge of the box.

Watch: Bayern Munich 8-0 Schalke – highlights

4) He is him

It isn't just his record-breaking goals that have endeared Musiala to the Allianz Arena faithful. The midfield magician has scored a goal to seal the title for the record champions on two separate occasions. In April 2022, he added the late third of a 3-1 Klassiker win over Dortmund to secure Bayern’s 10th consecutive Bundesliga title towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

More dramatic, however, was his 89th minute winner away at Cologne on the final day of the 2022/23 season - a game in which Bayern needed to win and Dortmund needed to drop points if the Bavarians were to clinch the title. With Dortmund's draw against Mainz seemingly set to be cancelled out by a resilient Cologne performance, Bayern needed a miracle. Step forward Musiala...

5) Shooting into international stardom

His rise at international level has been just as meteoric as that in the Bundesliga. Musiala made his Germany debut under Joachim Löw in March 2021, before ex-Bayern coach Hansi Flick rewarded his protégé with a first start against Liechtenstein in World Cup qualifying, an occasion which he marked with an assist.

He became the second-youngest goalscorer in the history of the Germany national team when he found the net against North Macedonia at 18 years and 227 days having been the youngest German player to feature at a major tournament (UEFA Euro 2020). Since then, he has racked up 7 goals and 8 assists across 38 full international caps, most recently becoming one of six joint-winners of the UEFA Euro 2024 Golden Boot (three goals).

Watch: Musiala discusses Meisterschale clincher

6) Messi's successor?

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown" befits many promising young players whose form can fluctuate after a comparison to the great Argentine - but not in Musiala's case. Speaking in November 2022, Germany's 1990 World Cup-winning captain Lothar Matthäus claimed. "He can be the Messi of the future, he is excellent," the Bundesliga Legend told BBC Sport after Musiala's star turn against Spain.

"I have loved him for the last two years, I love his style of football and I love his personality. He's 19 years old, he is doing the things that will make him a top footballer. He has great passing, he is clever with his thinking and he loves football."

Musiala has continued to prove what could have been a potentially impetuous prediction correct, most recently demonstrating his Messi-like accumen in Bayern's 4-0 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 23 of the 2024/25 season, adding the Bavarians' third with a breathtaking solo goal.

7) Serial Winner

Having only just turned 22, Musiala already has a trophy cabinet that many veterans of the sport would be envious of. In just over five competitive seasons at the Allianz Arena, the magician has won four Bundesliga titles, three DFL Supercups, one UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.

In terms of individual accolades too, he has been awarded the German national Player of the Year twice (2022, 2024), as well as being named in the Bundesliga team of the season twice (2022/23, 2023/24).

Watch: Bayern Munich 4-0 Eintracht Frankfurt - highlights

At club level, only the UEFA Champions League and the DFB Cup continue to elude him, whilst for his country, any major trophy remains yet to be obtained. Perhaps acquiring those in the future could see him also bequeathed with the coveted Ballon d'Or...

8) 'Three to the dome'

The aforementioned UEFA Euro 2024 golden boot winner went viral during the competition for his goal celebration where he'd put three fingers up to his forehead. When asked about the gesture, Musiala revealed: "It comes from basketball. From Carmelo [Anthony]."

Musiala, as it turns out, is a huge basketball fan, citing the 2003 3rd overall draft pick, 10x NBA All-Star and New York Knicks legend as a source of inspiration. However, Bayern's No.42 is himself a Golden State Warriors fan, with his favourite player being Steph Curry.

9) 'Shy Bambi'

The 'Bambi' nickname is one that has followed the young German star round since his arrival at Säbener Straße. He revealed it was given to him by Leroy Sané when he was 17, owing to his spindly legs and demeanor. Former Chelsea academy teammate Callum Hudson-Odoi concurred with this assessment, remembering him during his time together when he told Sky Sports: “He was so small.”

But Musiala's football on the pitch is anything but shy. In addition to his demonstrable flair for dribbling, he now also stands at a little over 6ft and has added aerial prowess to his game in the 2024/25 season, scoring four of his 11 goals so far this season with his head.

Musiala demonstrates his basketball-inspired celebration after scoring Germany's first against Hungary in a UEFA Euro 2024 group stage match. - IMAGO/Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON

10) Plenty more Musiala magic

In February 2025, Musiala signed a contract extension to keep the No. 42 at Munich until the Summer of 2030. A delighted Bayern president Herbert Heiner said of the 22-year-old: "People go to the stadium because of Jamal Musiala. He is an extraordinary player. Sometimes, you have the feeling gravity doesn't apply to him."

Clearly now Bayern’s creative talisman, fans of the record champions will be delighted to see their magician remain at the Allianz Arena for years to come. The 22-year-old echoed this delight, telling the Bayern website: "I’m really happy. Bayern is one of the biggest clubs in the world. I took my first steps in professional football here and firmly believe we can achieve something big with this club in the coming years."

The fan favourite added: "I feel at home both in Munich and at the club with our great fans. We’ve got a lot of things we want to achieve. I’m excited for everything that’s to come."