Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are, undeniably, two of the biggest football clubs on the planet.
Between them, the pair have hoovered up 133 major honours, including 70 league titles, 21 European Cups and 13 Intercontinental trophies. Encounters between the pair are known as Europäischer Klassiker in German or Clásico europeo in Spanish, both of which are pretty easy to translate.
However, only nine men have ever represented both juggernauts, as the table below documents.
Male players who have appeared for both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich
Players | Apps for Real Madrid | Apps for Bayern Munich |
|---|---|---|
Paul Breitner | 100 | 352 |
Zé Roberto | 21 | 248 |
Hamit Altıntop | 12 | 109 |
Arjen Robben | 65 | 309 |
Xabi Alonso | 236 | 117 |
Álvaro Odriozola | 49 | 5 |
James Rodríguez | 125 | 67 |
Toni Kroos | 465 | 205 |
David Alaba | 120 | 431 |
As the table documents, it is a pretty exclusive club of players who have played for both. Only four have made 100 or more appearances for both; Paul Breitner, Hamit Altıntop, David Alaba and Toni Kross are the only ones to move directly from Bavaria to the Bernabéu. Could there soon be a very high-profile young star added to this list?
Bayern Munich's wunderkind caught flirting with Real Madrid
Bayern Munich have been, arguably, the best team in all of Europe this season so far. Vincent Kompany's team are still unbeaten in the Bundesliga, accumulating 41 points out of a possible 45, thereby nine points clear of Borussia Dortmund. Die Rekordmeister are also second in the Champions League, winning five out of six, their sole defeat coming at Arsenal in November.
Among this, one of the most captivating storylines to come out of Bavaria is the emergence of teenager Lennart Karl, the 17 year old having already scored six goals this season across all competitions. By netting against Club Brugge, Arsenal and then Sporting CP, Karl has become the youngest player to find the net in three successive Champions League appearances.
As a diminutive, left-footed number ten, he has of course been compared to Lionel Messi, hence why there is plenty of excitement about him all across Germany. However, he may have annoyed the Bayern fanbase with his comments. In a recent interview he stated the following:
"I hope this stays between us. Bayern is a very big club. It's a dream to play there, but one day I want to go to Real Madrid. This is my dream club, but this remains between us."Lennart Karl
This has sparked outrage among Bayern supporters, with Karl forced to apologise. Max Eberl, the club's chief executive, has subsequent asserted that "for us, the matter is closed... he is playing well on the pitch... that is what matters."
Meantime, Germany's all-time record caps holder Lothar Matthäus stated "I think it's all fine. It shows that Karl is ambitious and believes in himself. He knows he has to perform exceptionally well at Bayern to even be on Real Madrid's radar".
So, while Bayern fans want their homegrown talents to be as loyal as Thomas Müller or Bastian Schweinsteiger, the latter famously turning down the chance to join Real Madrid, Karl may be different.
At 17 years old, he could stay in Bavaria for another decade and still move to the Spanish capital in his prime. Nevertheless, who knows, he could perhaps be seen at the Bernabéu in the iconic white kit in the not too distant future.