Uli Hoeneß comments on talk comparing Lennart Karl (17) to Lionel Messi | OneFootball

A dynamite performance for the Germany U21s over the November international break has only served to further amp up the hype surrounding 17-year-old Bayern Munich phenom Lennart Karl. FCB honorary president and German football icon Uli Hoeneß congratulated Karl on continuing to collect spectacular successes, yet expressed skepticism about talk cropping up comparing Karl to Lionel Messi. 

Karl’s deceptively slight build (the teenage talent is only 1.69m or 5 ft, 7 in tall) can’t help but evoke the Messi comparisons. The two players share almost precisely the same height. The fact that both players are hitting their initial professional stride at the same age makes comparing the two even more tantalizing. Hoeneß used examples from his own playing career to urge restraint. 

“When Lennart has played, he has played sensationally,” Hoeneß is quoted as saying by both Kicker and Sport Bild at a Thursday Bayern-organized charity and awareness event. “Nobody wants to slow the young players down. They should score as many goals as possible.

“We mustn’t forget that he has only played three or four Bundesliga games,” Hoeneß nevertheless continued. “I can still remember when I played well for a whole season at the age of 20 [whilst at Bayern]. [Then West Germany national team head coach] Helmut Schön took me aside and said: ‘Mr. Hoeneß, if you continue to play like this, I’ll invite you to the next training camp.’ That was after one full year!

“And now, he [Karl] plays three Bundesliga games, he’s already being compared to Messi,” Hoeneß concluded. “That’s exaggerated. [So is] Talk of us never being defeated. There will be setbacks.“

GGFN | Peter Weis