Musiala was born in Baden-Wurttemberg to a German mother and Nigerian father. When he was 7 years old, he and his family left for England. There, he made his first impressions with Southampton before joining the Chelsea youth team. During those same years, Musiala met Bellingham who was playing for Birmingham City.
The pair quickly made their mark at England U15s, before going on to play together at U16 and U17 level. Bellingham and Musiala played 13 games together in total, and their on-field chemistry made them close friends to this day.
Bellingham (No. 10) and Musiala (No. 11) when they were playing for the England U16 team. Photo: Sport Mail
“They both have really unique personalities, very competitive,” former England youth team coach Kevin Betsy told Goal . “Everything they do is about winning and improving, but they are also very humble and respectful of those around them. They are also very unselfish, which makes them both very likeable. Bellingham and Musiala are great guys, the kind of guys every parent would want their kids to be when they grow up.”
Musiala then played twice for England U21s, before deciding to play for Germany in February 2021. However, Musiala – who joined Bayern at the age of 16 – insists he has always had feelings for both countries, and has continued to follow his close friend Bellingham’s England journey. “I still have love for England, for my old team-mates, for Bellingham,” the midfielder, born in 2003, told BBC ‘s Match of the Day .
Bellingham and Musiala were intimate during the Bayern – Dortmund match in the Bundesliga on October 22, 2022. Photo: AFP
Bellingham made his Bundesliga debut for Dortmund in September 2020, just 33 days before Musiala, but that is the only statistic in which the English midfielder has outperformed his close friend in Germany. The two have met six times in the “German Clasico” between Bayern and Dortmund. Of those, Musiala has won five and drawn one, in addition to a win and a draw when Germany met England in the UEFA Nations League in 2022. Musiala also made Bellingham’s final match in Germany a sad memory, scoring the decisive goal to help Bayern beat Cologne 2-1 to overtake Dortmund and win the Bundesliga in the final round of the 2022-2023 season.
After that, Bellingham was recruited by Real for 113 million USD and is experiencing a sublime season. The English midfielder scored 22 goals and assisted 10 other goals in 38 matches in all competitions, helping Real win the Spanish Super Cup, win La Liga and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. He also won two titles for the best young player in 2023: Kopa Trophy from France Football magazine and Golden Boy from Tuttosport newspaper .