Hoeneß reacts to Karl’s Real faux pas: „He simply has to watch out“ | OneFootball

Lennart Karl’s statements about a possible move to Real Madrid have recently made waves around FC Bayern. At a fan club event, the 17-year-old spoke openly about wanting to play for the top Spanish club at some point in his career. This caused discussion, and in some cases irritation, in the fan scene. Now, honorary president Uli Hoeneß himself has spoken out for the first time – and shown a surprising amount of composure

At FC Bayern’s Legends Cup in Munich’s SAP Garden, where club icons such as Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben, Lothar Matthäus and Jürgen Klinsmann played for the record champions, Hoeneß watched the action from up close. Even though Borussia Dortmund won the tournament in the end, the long-time Bayern man used the stage to talk to MagentaTV about current issues surrounding the club

Hoeneß defends Karl

photo: IMAGO

When asked about Lennart Karl’s Real Madrid statements, Hoeneß remained remarkably relaxed. The 74-year-old made it clear that he sees no problem in the Bayern youngster’s words. „Young players are allowed to do that. They just have to be careful in today’s media landscape that they don’t overdo it and otherwise it’s not a problem for me at all,“ Hoeneß explained

The honorary president made it clear that dreams and ambitions of young players are part of the development process for him – as long as they don’t become a distraction. Especially at a time when every statement is immediately amplified in the media, tact is required. However, Hoeneß did not reveal any fundamental criticism of Karl or his attitude

Instead, he emphasized his delight that Lennart Karl, another home-grown player, has managed to establish himself in the first team at FC Bayern. The attacking player has long been more than just a supplementary player this season and is now a permanent member of the regular squad

Youth as a supporting pillar

The numbers back up this development. Lennart Karl has appeared in 16 of the 18 Bundesliga matches so far. In addition, other talented youngsters such as Cassiano Kiala, Wisdom Mike and David Daiber have also been able to get their first minutes in Germany’s top flight. A development that was long considered difficult at FC Bayern and is now visibly picking up speed again

Against this backdrop, Karl’s statements about Real Madrid appear in a different light. They are less to be understood as a turning away from FC Bayern, but rather as an expression of a young player who thinks big and is ambitious. It is precisely this ambition that does not seem to be slowed down at the record champions at the moment, but rather embedded in a functioning overall construct

Hoeneß‘ words send a clear signal: FC Bayern need not be afraid of the dreams of its talented players – as long as they perform, take responsibility and help the club move forward in the here and now. Lennart Karl is doing just that. Everything else is a dream for the future.