'It's an honour' - Musiala responds to 'difficult' Messi comparisons amid Germany World Cup hype

• Matthaus compared Musiala to Messi
• Breaking records at Bayern
• Closely follows Messi and Neymar

WHAT HAPPENED? Germany legend Lothar Matthaus compared the youngster to Messi when he became the youngest player to make 100 appearances for Bayern Munich at 19 years and 259 days. Musiala has been in scintillating form for the Bundesliga giants this season and is now gearing up for his World Cup debut, but he is keeping his feet firmly on the ground and does not feel he can be mentioned in the same bracket as an Argentina icon just yet.

WHAT THEY SAID: ''It’s an honour to be compared to Messi, but I find that difficult. He’s been performing at the top level for his entire life," The Germany playmaker has said to The Athletic.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: However, Musiala did not hide the fact that he closely follows Messi along with his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar as he wants to emulate their style of taking on defenders. "The way Messi plays with defenders, you never know what he’s going to do next,'' he added. ''He will wait for you to make the first move, then go the other way. Same with Neymar. They have this calmness on the ball. It’s like they’re never in rush. Many players have mastered that but I feel I can still improve that side.''

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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@Argentina

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WHAT NEXT FOR MUSIALA? The teenager will hope that Hansi Flick will hand him a start in Germany's World Cup campaign opener against Japan on Wednesday.