No contact with Nagelsmann yet
©IMAGO
According to his own statements, Lennart Karl has not yet had any contact with national coach Julian Nagelsmann. But that could change in 2026 at the latest, if the 17-year-old exceptional talent continues his meteoric rise at FC Bayern as he currently does.
“I just have to show my performance and then see what Julian does,” said Karl after the German record champions’ 6-2 win in the Bundesliga against SC Freiburg. The DFB junior became a “key player” for the Munich team on Saturday, among other things as the scorer of the important 1-2 goal, as sports director Max Eberl praised. The development is also likely to have an impact on Karl’s market value. He was already one of the world’s biggest winners in October, jumping from 1.5 million to 20 million euros. The Bundesliga market values will be updated again on December 19th. Here you can discuss Karl’s market value and influence the valuation with your arguments.
Karl has long had the World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the USA on his mind. “Of course I can also play U21. I just have to show my performance every game – and then it will work out somehow,” said the youngster confidently. Nagelsmann has also had his eye on him for a long time. In his first two appearances for the DFB U21 juniors, Karl impressed with three goals in the victories against Malta (6-0) and in Georgia (2-0).
Lennart Karl and the comparisons with Lionel Messi
The offensive player is very aware of the “positive hype” surrounding himself. But he tries to ignore him. Even the comparisons with world champion Lionel Messi (38) do not bother or unsettle him. He could also achieve great things in his career, “of course if it continues like this,” said Karl when asked about his role model. “But now I can’t compare myself with Messi yet. Messi is way up there. There’s still a long way to go.” The 1.70 meter tall Messi is just as left-footed as Karl, who is two centimeters shorter.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany thinks the public hype surrounding Karl is okay. “I think it’s important that the boy enjoys this phase,” said the Belgian. But for Kompany it is not the outside world that matters. “We don’t go with the story of which left-footed player is similar to him,” said the coach about Messi comparisons. “We’ll just see that he becomes the best version of Lennart Karl. At the moment he’s doing it very well.” And he will receive full support internally, “and can then grow as a normal boy.”
Sports director Eberl made a similar statement, finding Karl’s rapid development with the Bayern professionals remarkable. “Lennart Karl is Lennart Karl. And every player has his characteristics,” said Eberl: “Lionel Messi is coming to the end of his career, Lennart Karl is just starting. He should write his own story.”