Karl

Lennart Karl (born 22 February 2008) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.

Club career Karl joined the academy of Viktoria Aschaffenburg in 2015, and he moved to the academy of Eintracht Frankfurt in 2017. He then rejoined Viktoria Aschaffenburg in 2022, before he caught the eye of Bayern Munich and in the summer of the same year, Karl joined their academy. During the 2024–25 season he started with the U17 Nachwuchsliga Group F for Bayern Munich with 17 goals and 8 assists in just 9 appearances. In October 2024 top-flight clubs, like Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and Dutch Eredivisie club Ajax, showed interest in recruiting him. At only 16 years old of age, Karl already represented both the under-17 and under-19 squads during the 2024–25 season.

On 4 April 2025, he received his first call-up with the senior team of Bayern Munich, for a 3–1 away victory Bundesliga match against FC Augsburg, as an unused substitute. Two months later, on 15 June, he made his professional debut during a 10–0 victory over Auckland City in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Karl was one of the players that were called up by Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany, for the 2025 pre-season matches against French Ligue 1 club Lyon, English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and Swiss Super League club Grasshopper. In the meantime, on 8 August, along with his teammate Wisdom Mike, Karl extended his contract with the club and chose to wear the shirt number 42.

International career Karl has represented the Germany national U15, U16 and U17 teams.

Style of play Karl is a left-footed attacking midfielder, acting as a number 10, sitting behind the striker and dictating play in the final third. He often scores goals from long range. With his intelligence on the ball and considerable goal contributions he has drawn comparisons with Thomas Müller, Mesut Özil and Bastian Schweinsteiger.