Lennart Karl

Last updated
Lennart Karl
Personal information
Full name Lennart Karl [1]
Date of birth (2008-02-22) 22 February 2008 (age 17)
Place of birth Frammersbach, Germany
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) [2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team
Bayern Munich
Number 42
Youth career
2015–2017 Viktoria Aschaffenburg
2017–2021 Eintracht Frankfurt
2022 Viktoria Aschaffenburg
2022–2025 Bayern Munich
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2025– Bayern Munich II 1 (0)
2025– Bayern Munich 7 (1)
International career
2023 Germany U15 2 (1)
2023–2024 Germany U16 9 (5)
2024– Germany U17 13 (7)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:21, 1 November 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 May 2025

Lennart Karl (born 22 February 2008) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. [3] [4]

Contents

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. [5] 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. [5] In October 2024 top-flight clubs, like Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and Dutch Eredivisie club Ajax, showed interest in recruiting him. [3] 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. [6] 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. [7]

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. [8] [9] 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, which previously worn by Jamal Musiala. [10] Later that year, on 22 October, he scored his first professional goal in a 4–0 victory over Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge in the Champions League, becoming the club's youngest-ever scorer in the competition at 17 years and 242 days old, surpassing the previous record held by Jamal Musiala. [11] [12] Three days later, he netted his first Bundesliga goal in a 3–0 away win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. [13]

International career

Karl has represented the Germany national U15, U16 and U17 teams. [14] [15]

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. [4] [5]

Career statistics

As of match played 1 November 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague DFB-Pokal EuropeOtherTotal
Div.AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bayern Munich II 2025–26 Regionalliga Bayern 100010
Bayern Munich 2024–25 Bundesliga 0000001 [a] 010
2025–26 71202 [b] 11 [c] 0122
Total71202120132
Career total81202120142

Honours

Bayern Munich

References

  1. "FIFA Club World Cup 2025 – Squad List: FC Bayern München (GER)" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2025. p. 15. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  2. "Lennart Karl". kicker.de (in German). Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Real Madrid ready to engage in transfer battle with Ajax for Bayern Munich prodigy Lennart Karl". Goal.com . 30 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Legende berät offenbar Mega-Talent". Sport1.de (in German). 28 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Remember the Name: Lennart Karl – Bayern Munich's 17-Year-Old Prodigy". Yahoo Sports. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  6. "Bayern come from behind to beat Augsburg". FC Bayern Munich. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  7. "Schützenfest zum Auftakt: FC Bayern demontiert Auckland City" (in German). Sport1. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  8. "Match report FC Bayern - Olympique Lyon (Friendly)". FC Bayern Munich. 2 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  9. "FC Bayern vs. Hotspur - Telekom Cup 25/26". FC Bayern Munich. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  10. "FC Bayern verlängert mit Lennart Karl und Wisdom Mike" (in German). FC Bayern Munich. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  11. Overhoff, Philipp (22 October 2025). "🚨 Er liegt noch vor Musiala! Bayern-Juwel sichert sich irren Klubrekord" [🚨 Still ahead of Musiala, Bayern starlet claims incredible club record] (in German). OneFootball. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  12. "Bayern breeze past Brugge to stay perfect". FC Bayern Munich. 22 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  13. "Bayern Munich starlet Lennart Karl adds to steadily growing tally with dream goal against Borussia Mönchengladbach". Get German Football News. 25 October 2025.
  14. "Lennart Karl - Spielerprofil - DFB Datencenter". Deutscher Fußball-Bund (in German).
  15. "Lennart Karl Internationals". Worldfootball.
  16. "FC Bayern vorzeitig deutscher Fußball-Meister". FAZ.NET (in German). 4 May 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  17. "Bayern München ist der erste Gewinner des Franz-Beckenbauer-Supercups". Spiegel (in German). 16 August 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.