England and Gareth Southgate’s mistake over Germany star Jamal Musiala still baffles Lothar Matthaus, who mockingly thanked the Three Lions.
19-year-old Musiala made his Bayern Munich debut back in 2020, since then he has established himself as one of the most important players for the Bavarian giants.
Musiala has since been capped by Germany 15 times and was part of their squad for the Euro 2020 tournament.
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However, before he pledged his allegiance to Germany, Musiala represented England at U15, U16, U17 and U21 levels. He was part of Chelsea and Southampton’s academies before the German Bundesliga champions snapped him up in 2019.
Former Germany international Matthaus believes England made a big mistake in allowing Musiala to play for Germany.
He told The Daily Mail: “You gave the best player from the young English generation to Germany — Musiala. I have a son who is eight years old. I have to buy the Bayern Munich shirts with No.42 on the back and the Germany shirt with No 14. My son is crazy about Musiala. So, thank you England for giving him to us!
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“I do not know why you did not fight more to keep this player in the English shirt. We are so happy to have him.”
The former Bayern midfielder then compared Musiala to seven time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi.
He added: “When he is on the field, this is like Messi three years ago. He has everything. Fast, good dribbling, the last pass, he can score.
“He gets the ball and always goes forward — like me, against Yugoslavia. He is also learning to work better for the defence. He is becoming the complete player.
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“In the future, he will be one of the very best players in the world.”
Southgate admitted earlier in the year that he wanted Musiala to play for the Three Lions.
He said: “We'd have liked him to stay [with England] for certain, but when you're training at Bayern Munich every day and you're surrounded by Bayern Munich and German players, then that's a little bit more challenging and of course his family have those strong ties.”
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After a more than promising start to the 22/23 campaign, Musiala is in a great position to be named in Germany’s squad for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, which is due to kick off in November.
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Topics: Bayern Munich, England, Gareth Southgate, Germany, Jamal Musiala
Marcus Chan