Explained: Why Yunus Musah snubbed England for USMNT & how decision to leave Premier League giants Arsenal was made

The New York-born midfielder represented the Young Lions up to U19 level after spending much of his childhood in London. He was urged to be patient in pursuit of senior international opportunities, but jumped at the chance to switch allegiance when an unexpected phone call arrived.

Musah has told the Daily Mail of committing to the United States: “I really enjoyed my time with England, I never thought about switching at first. But it came to a point where I was a first-team player in Valencia and I was still playing Under-19s with England that season. The first-team manager of the U.S. men's national team then called me, Gregg Berhalter. That was a big phone call to receive at such a young age, for me to go and play with the men's team. So that was a huge opportunity that I felt like I couldn't refuse, and I've never looked back since.”

Musah is not afraid to make big decisions, having also walked away from Premier League giants Arsenal in 2019. He added on leaving England for Spain: “I felt like at the time I could make that step to become a first-team player soon. But it would have taken more time to do it if I was at Arsenal. And Valencia believed that I could make that step earlier, like I believed as well. So that was the decision. I didn't quite feel good about the offer that Arsenal made, so I went to Valencia where I felt like I could get to the first team quicker.”

The all-action midfielder made his mark in La Liga across three productive seasons. Serie A giants AC Milan came calling in the summer of 2023, allowing him to join USMNT team-mate Christian Pulisic at San Siro, and the talented 21-year-old is now up to 33 caps for his country.