Uli Hoeness has decided that the loudest voice on Lennart Karl should be his own. The Bayern honorary president and supervisory board member says he will sit the 18-year-old down for what he calls “a serious talk”, a conversation about expectations, humility and the kind of noise that has started to collect around the winger.
“I’m planning to have a serious talk with him. He’s far from being a superstar; young players need humility,” Hoeness told Welt am Sonntag in comments picked up by multiple German outlets.
Last season the numbers made the case for Karl all on their own. The teenager finished the 2025/26 campaign with nine goals and eight assists. In October 2025 he became Bayern’s youngest Champions League goalscorer at 17 years and 242 days.
The 2026/27 version has been very different. A thigh injury before the World Cup kept Karl out of the tournament, and since returning he has one goal and one assist in 267 minutes across nine appearances in all competitions.
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The Olise line
Hoeness reserved his sharpest words for the comparisons that have attached themselves to Karl this autumn, with team-mate Michael Olise serving as the usual reference point.
“Comparisons with Olise are clearly not doing him any favours; there’s a world of difference between them,” Hoeness said.
Eberl’s softer line
Not everyone at Säbener Strasse wanted the microphone turned on. Sporting director Max Eberl offered a very different reading in remarks reported by Get German Football News, framing the dip as part of a predictable arc rather than a problem to be shouted at.
“What’s happening with Lenny is a completely normal process for a young player. We’re supporting him and are convinced he’ll reach that level again. But he had the injury, he missed the World Cup, and that naturally has an impact on a player,” Eberl said.
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The off-pitch file
The dressing-room debate is not only about minutes and finishing. On the Bayern Insider podcast, BILD journalists Christian Falk and Heiko Niedderer reported that some executives at the club are unhappy with Karl’s public image, and want him to narrow his focus to his football. In the same reporting Tom Bischof is held up internally as the model of what Bayern want from a teenager breaking through.
A separate BulliNews report cites BILD’s view that the hierarchy is particularly uncomfortable with how often Karl shares his private life on social media, including scenes with his girlfriend, 22-year-old influencer Zoe Käppele.
Premier League eyes
Karl’s dip has not dampened interest abroad. German outlet Fussball Europa reports that Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are all tracking his situation at Bayern. For now, the next move the teenager is scheduled to make is into a room with Hoeness.
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