Decided against changing in 2018
©IMAGO
Bayern Munich’s Lennart Karl is the shooting star of the Bundesliga. At 17 years old, the offensive powerhouse is already one of the ten most valuable players in the upper house and, before the end of the year, not only recorded the largest increase in the market value update, but the largest in Bundesliga history. At a fan club meeting for the record champions on Sunday, the 17-year-old gave insights into his footballing dreams for the future.
Ideally, Karl should lead him to Spain to the 36-time champions Real Madrid – so far eleven German footballers have played for Los Blancos. “FC Bayern is a very big club. It’s a dream to play there. But at some point I definitely want to go to Real Madrid. That’s my dream club, but that stays between us. Of course, Bayern is something very special and it’s a lot of fun,” said Karl during the event in Burgsinn. The youngster had already completed a trial training session with the Royals a few years ago, but a change for the 10-year-old, who was still active in the Eintracht Frankfurt youth team in 2018, did not materialize. According to information from the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the family decided against it because at that time it was believed that the Madrilenians’ desire was based less on sporting interests than on economic interests.
This experience obviously didn’t affect his passion for Real. Karl impressed with five scorers in 13 Bundesliga games this season, and also scored three goals after four appearances in the Champions League. “I spend the most time with Tom Bischof and Aleksandar Pavlović. But I also learn a lot from Michael Olise and can learn from him: shooting, dribbling,” Karl attested, referring to his previous experiences in the record champions’ team structure.
Lennart Karl on the 2026 World Cup: “It would be something special”
The fact that he was able to get off to such a good start this season is also due to the fact that teammate Jamal Musiala missed the first half of the season due to a broken fibula. Both prefer to play in the attacking midfield and shine with their dribbling and outstanding accuracy. In the second half of the season, the duo will be seen together for the first time in the Bundesliga, as so far they have only been on the field together in the 10-0 win against Auckland City at the Club World Cup.
It is not surprising that the 1.68 meter tall left-footed player has been linked with a World Cup nomination for weeks. When asked about the tournament taking place in Canada, Mexico and the USA in the summer, Karl said: “Of course I would like to go to the World Cup. I have to perform and then we’ll see in the end whether it works or not. Going to the World Cup at the age of 17 would be something special. I work very hard and then hopefully I’ll be rewarded.”