Nigeria have been very active in the area of luring players who were born abroad to commit their international future to the senior national team.
The move was very much in full flight during the tenure of former coach Gernot Rohr. The German succeeded with as many as seven players born abroad making their debut for Nigeria during his time as coach.
However he failed with some like Bayern Munich and Germany national team star Jamal Musiala, who as first reported by OGN had talks with the then coach senior national team of Nigeria but opted against commiting his future to Nigeria.
“Musiala is coming from here. Musiala I have the regret, he could also play for Nigeria but he decided to play for Germany. Wonderful player. I met him when he was 17 and spoke with his agent and his parents. Around that time he couldn’t make a decision then a year later, he became what he is now and that’s all”, Rohr explained to OGN early this year.
That report has now been confirmed by the player himself in an interview with TeamNigeriaUK3. He said he gave the option a hard thought before deciding on sticking with Germany, where he is now an established member of their first team.
“I could have played for Nigeria because it crossed my mind, and I thought about it well. I had good talks with Nigeria and Germany,” Musiala told TeamNigeriaUK3.
“So it really just came down to me and where I’d feel the most comfortable. So I decided to go with Germany.”
