Germany legend Lothar Matthaus has mocked England for ‘not fighting harder’ to keep Jamal Musiala in a Three Lions shirt.
Musiala, 19, moved to England when he was seven years old and came through the academies of both Southampton and Chelsea. Born in Stuttgart, the teenage midfielder relocated to Bayern Munich in 2020 and has quickly risen to meteoric prominence in Bavaria.
Capped at youth level for England’s U15s, U16s, U17s and U21s, Musiala ultimately switched alliances to the country of his birth in 2021, and has since represented Germany 15 times at senior level, even featuring against the Three Lions at Euro 2020 last summer.
England face Germany in a Nations League game later this month, and ahead of the contest, Southgate recently admitted he would “have liked” Musiala to remain with the nation, but ultimately conceded that once he moved to Bayern from Chelsea his head was always going to turn.
Eager to chime in with his own opinion on Musiala’s decision to switch international allegiances, Germany legend Matthaus has taunted England for allowing the generational talent to slip through their net.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Matthaus said: “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! 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.
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“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. In the future, he will be one of the very best players in the world.”