There is always room at Bayern Munich for some drama. Eighteen-year-old Lennart Karl’s recent drop in form and other issues have caused some concerns for pundits and fans, while even drawing comments from club personnel. Specifically, supervisory board member Uli Hoeneß mentioned wishing to sit down with Karl to teach him some humility, and board member for sport Max Eberl publicly acknowledged the drop in form.

This has prompted agent Michael Ballack to call out Hoeneß and Eberl for wronging his young client.

“You must not conflate that [Karl’s public appearance] with his sporting development, and that’s exactly what FC Bayern are doing,” Ballack stated boldly (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “It’s legitimate for Uli Hoeneß to criticize this public appearance. But it is also clear that he is publicly making Lennart a target. And for Max Eberl to now say that Lennart is going through a difficult spell, accompanied by a catalog of missteps, when Lennart’s performances are clearly on the rise again, is incomprehensible given the timing and, at the very least, deserves to be questioned.”

Regardless of how Karl performs, the injuries to Ismael Saibari, Serge Gnabry, and Michael Olise in the 2-2 draw against BorussiaDortmund will mean he will play an utterlycrucial role at least until the November international break. That will be the time for Karl to step up and prove his performances are, as Ballack believes, truly on the rise. It is unfair to burden an 18-year-old with such responsibility, but such drama is never that far away at Bayern.