Jamal Musiala has 19 caps for Germany (Photo: Getty)
World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthaus believes that young Germany star Jamal Musiala could be as good as the legendary Lionel Messi.
19-year-old Musiala is widely considered to be one of the best young players in the world right now and further cemented that reputation with an excellent performance in the 1-1 draw against Spain on Sunday night.
At the Al Bayt stadium in Qatar, the attacking midfielder was easily Germany’s best player and did well to set up Niclas Fullkrug for the late equaliser, and keep his nation’s World Cup hopes alive.
At club-level, he is already a vital part in Bayern Munich’s star-studded team, having scored 27 goals and made 17 assists in 100 appearances, and is already valued at well-over £100million.
Though born in Germany, Musiala was raised in London and was part of Chelsea’s academy before joining Bayern in 2019 and also featured 19 times for various England youth teams before switching allegiance to Germany last year.
‘I have been a big fan of him from two years ago when he first broke through,’ Matthaus, who won the 1990 World Cup with Germany, said of Musiala when speaking to BBC Sport.
‘He is 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.
‘I love his style of football and I love his personality. He can be the Messi of the future, he is excellent.
‘When Messi was 18-years-old, I met him for the first time when he played against Hungary [the team Matthaus managed then] and he got sent off after 40 seconds.
‘He came on to the field and tried to show he loves football, he has a passion for football. Musiala is the same.’
As Messi is the talisman for Argentina, Musiala has been Germany’s biggest, and at times only real threat at this World Cup, with the four-time winners looking very lacklustre in the draw with Spain and the defeat to Japan in their opening game.
These results have left Germany’s chances of progressing from the group stage out of their own hands as not only must be they beat Costa Rica in their last group game, they are also relying on Spain beating Japan.
Should the latter match end in a draw, Germany must hope that their goal difference is superior to that of the Asian side’s.
MORE : Late Germany equaliser against Spain keeps World Cup dreams alive
MORE : World Cup star Cody Gakpo responds to Manchester United transfer interest
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The former Chelsea player has had a great tournament so far.
