Ballack claims Lennart Karl said "nothing wrong" regarding Real Madrid statement

The player's agent has hit back at those who criticized his client regarding his remarks over Real Madrid and his 'arrogant' nature.

Photo: Alex Grimm/Getty Images.

Michael Ballack, now an agent, has defended his client Lennart Karl over the latter's wrongly perceived Real Madrid statement last January.

"He was asked, ‘Who is your favorite club apart from FC Bayern?’ That part tends to get left out,” Ballack told the Kerners11 podcast.

"There was actually nothing wrong with what he said. He was simply talking about a dream that maybe one day he might play for Real Madrid.

“I always had that [dream] in the back of my mind too [laughs],” the former Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea player said. 

The 50-year-old also took aim at people who accuse Karl of shoeing polarizing behavior, personality and sometimes ‘arrogance’.

“Lennart has a personality, and that's important. In an environment like FC Bayern, you won’t make it at 17 if you don’t have a strong personality.

"That's what young players need today. They need individuality. Of course, they need talent, but they also need qualities.

“That may have been somewhat lost nowadays in upbringing, in schools, but also in youth academies,” Ballack explained.