Mateusz Konrad Musiałowski (born 16 October 2003) is a Polish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

club Omonia.

Early life

Born in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Musiałowski started his career at Ajaks Częstochowa at the age of five. Four years later, he joined the academy of

Raków Częstochowa Robotniczy Klub Sportowy Raków Częstochowa Spółka Akcyjna (commonly referred to as Raków Częstochowa, or simply Raków) is a Polish professional football club, based in Częstochowa, that competes in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of natio ...

, before spending time on loan with

Skra Częstochowa Skra Częstochowa is a Polish football club based in Częstochowa, Poland. As of the 2025–26 season, they compete in group III of the III liga, the fourth tier of Polish football. History The club was founded in 1926. In 1946, Skra became ...

. Following his loan spell, Musiałowski joined SMS Łódź, where he would go on to score 133 goals in 88 games at youth level.

Club career

Liverpool

After trials with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Musiałowski joined rivals

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in August 2020. He signed his first professional contract in July 2021, and has trained with Liverpool's first team. In July 2022, he made his unofficial Liverpool debut, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 friendly defeat to

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. Musiałowski was set to join

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

side

TSV Hartberg TSV Hartberg, currently known as TSV Egger Glas Hartberg for sponsorship reasons, is an association football club based in Hartberg, Styria, Austria. Founded in 1946, the club competes in the Austrian Football Bundesliga, the top tier of the Aust ...

in the summer of 2023, before the deal collapsed at the last minute. He made his first team debut as a second-half substitute on 14 March 2024 in a 6–1

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

win over

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

during the round of 16 at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

, becoming only the second Polish player to play for Liverpool (the other being

Jerzy Dudek Jerzy Henryk Dudek (born 23 March 1973) is a Polish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. After beginning his career in his home country, he went on to have successful ...

) and the first outfield Pole to make an official appearance for the Merseyside outfit. Following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, the club confirmed that Musiałowski would depart upon the expiration of his contract.

Omonia

Despite garnering interest from Polish top-tier clubs, Musiałowski decided to continue his career abroad. On 5 August 2024, he signed a three-year deal with Cypriot club Omonia, where he joined his compatriot

Mariusz Stępiński Mariusz Paweł Stępiński (; born 12 May 1995) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Cypriot club Omonia. Club career Early career Born in Sieradz, Poland, Stępiński started his career playing for youth sides Piast ...

International career

Musiałowski has represented Poland at numerous youth levels.

Style of play

Comfortable playing in midfield, or further forward on either wing, Musiałowski has been compared to footballing legend

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

, earning the nickname "the Polish Messi". Musiałowski himself has stated that he models his style of play on the Argentine's, and notably scored a Messi-esque goal against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

's under-18s in March 2021; a goal which was later named the under-18 Premier League goal of the season. He has also been compared to former Chelsea and Real Madrid superstar

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger or attacking midfielder for Lille OSC, Lille, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Real ...

for his dribbling ability. Musialowski is said to idolise Messi and said in an interview that he would choose him over

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Musialowski, Mateusz 2003 births Living people Footballers from Katowice Polish men's footballers Poland men's youth international footballers Poland men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Raków Częstochowa players Skra Częstochowa players UKS SMS Łódź players Liverpool F.C. players AC Omonia players Cypriot First Division players Polish expatriate men's footballers Polish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Polish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus 21st-century Polish sportsmen