Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala has confirmed that he held a conversation with close friend Joshua Zirzkee about joining Manchester United – but the pair were only messing around.

Zirkzee completed a £36.5m move from Bologna to United during the summer transfer window after two fine seasons playing in Italy, having previously come through the Bayern academy.

The 23-year-old Dutchman made 17 appearances for the senior team before leaving for pastures new, and remains close friends with Musiala, who shone for Germany at Euro 2024 over the summer.

Shortly after signing for the Red Devils, Zirkzee was filmed suggesting to fans he tried to convince Musiala to reunite with him at Old Trafford.

In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Musiala has revealed that the pair did speak about the German playmaker joining Zirkzee in Manchester – but it was the kind of conversation where close friends joke about playing in the same team.

“You always joke around with friends and dream of playing together in the same team one day,” Musiala clarified. “The jokes go both ways: I also told Josh that he should come back to Bayern. But you shouldn’t take that too seriously.”

Zirkzee has scored one goal in three appearances for United so far this term, coming off the bench to score a late winner against Fulham on the opening day of the Premier League season. However, the Red Devils have fallen to defeats against Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool since.

Meanwhile, Musiala has one goal from his first two Bundesliga matches with Bayern to kick off the 2024/25 campaign. He was controversially left off the 30-player shortlist of Ballon d’Or contenders earlier this week despite his fine performances for club and country over the last year.

Musiala’s future at Bayern has been tentatively called into question with his contract up in 2026 and no agreement yet reached over a fresh deal.

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