Who would have thunk legendary footballer Michael Ballack would become a football agent? But that is exactly he did, creating his own agency, Lucky 13 GmbH, with the goal to find a small but notable list of clients. The most notable player on this list is Bayern Munich’s current star youngster, Lennart Karl, who started working with Ballack a few years ago back with the U-15s.
Without adult football before the 2025/26 season, Karl took Bayern and Europe as a whole by storm by putting in consistently
great performances week in and week out and breaking multiple records. Having done all of this, many have started to debate whether Karl should jump to Germany’s senior squad for the 2026 World Cup. Could Karl really complete such a remarkable ascension after he was part of Germany’s U-17s for the 2025 summer U-17 EUROs?
Ballack believes so. “Of course I’m biased because I’ve been advising him for some time now – and you do become a fan of a player when you work with them every day,” the former Bayern player said, as captured by @iMiaSanMia.
But…
“I’m someone who is 100% convinced of his abilities. He’s shown that. He’s made incredible progress in the last six months, adapted incredibly quickly, and made a name for himself at the highest level through top performances. I believe that when you play this role at Bayern Munich, you’re automatically a candidate [for the national team]. I don’t need to hide anything about that. It’s up to the national team coach to decide. I think Lennart is a special player who brings something that not many others do. That’s why I think the coach will carefully consider whether he’s already a factor. Personally, I certainly see him as a potential candidate – based on his performances.”
Certainly, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann’s squad for the upcoming March international break will be very indicative of the 18-year-old’s chances to make it to the 2026 World Cup.
