Max Eberl: “A 17-year-old is allowed to make a mistake”

Max Eberl followed Christoph Freund in trying to cool down the Lennart Karl controversy at Bayern Munich.

Max Eberl has tried to play down the controversy stemming from Lennart Karl’s public statement about a dream move to Real Madrid. Eberl’s words for Bild followed up Christoph Freund defending the 17-year-old superstar before Bayern’s 5-0 win in Salzburg.

“A 17-year-old is allowed to make mistakes,” said Eberl after Bayern’s 5-0 win over RB Salzburg in a friendly. “He came to us the next day to say, ‘I think I said something there that wasn’t quite good.’

“We have no problem with him. That’s just how it is these days. He’s allowed to say something, but he later regrets that. He’s learning, and he’s incredibly good on the pitch. All of Germany knows what he’s capable of as he shows his performance on the pitch.”

Karl scored a brace as Vincent Kompany’s side started the new year with an emphatic display. Bayern will face VfL Wolfsburg in their first competitive game of 2026 on Sunday. The Rekordmeister will have seven games in the space of 20 days at the start of the second half of the season.