Jamal Musiala: 'It's important to have outlets outside of the game' | OneFootball

Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala has admitted that it is important for players to have interests away from football, revealing that his love of fashion has helped his performances on the pitch.

Young football stars have the power to change the game. The desire to build their own narratives, express themselves on and off the pitch and control their influence separates them from the decades worth of players who came before them.

21-year-old Musiala is riding the wave of this new-found culture, embracing his love of fashion and working with luxury brands such as Bottega. But it's not just big names and flashy outfits that outline Musiala's passions.

"I don't know when exactly, or what sort of age I was at the time, but over the years now I've gotten more into fashion," he detailed in an extensive interview with VERSUS. "I really liked Bottega's vibe so I started to wear more and more of their pieces, and that's how it started. I feel like Bottega fits my style best compared to most other brands out there right now.

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"I like to think I'm quite a chilled and relaxed person, so I prefer to keep my looks quite clean and minimalist. Understated! Bottega are quite understated with their designs but also elevated at the same time. I really like that about them: that they can be so simple yet still turn heads, for the right reasons.

"I think maybe in the last year or two [my passion has grown]. I think before then, I didn't really mind too much because my entire focus was football, football and football. And it still is! But now I realise how important it is to have outlets outside of the game.

"In a weird way, when everything is about football and it's all you think about, you run the risk of not being happy. It affects how comfortable and free you feel on the pitch – your performance can ironically be affected negatively if your only outlet is football.

"I'm fortunate in that I have a few things I really enjoy outside of my job, and one of them is now fashion."

The midfielder has enjoyed a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign, netting four goals in ten appearances for Bayern. He was a consistent performer under former boss Thomas Tuchel last term - featuring in 38 matches across all competitions.