Former Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld believes the Bundesliga champions currently have the best squad in Europe.
Hitzfeld, 68, enjoyed two spells at Bayern -- between 1998 to 2004 and 2007 to 2008 -- winning five German league titles and the Champions League before spending six years as Switzerland boss and retiring in 2014.
Despite Carlo Ancelotti's side beating Bayern 5-0 on aggregate on their way to Champions League glory last season, Hitzfeld thinks that Pep Guardiola's current squad is now better than both Real's and their Spanish clasico rivals Barcelona.
Speaking to TZ, Hitzfeld said: "I am of the opinion that Bayern have the best squad -- and by that I mean not only the first XI -- in the whole of Europe."
When asked about the merits of Real and Barca, he replied: "The squad of Bayern is stronger. Guardiola can replace two or three top players without a problem. Many players can take this opportunity to prove themselves and get match practice. This fuels competition."
Bayern face Hamburg on Saturday before taking on Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday, and Hitzfeld thinks Guardiola's busy fixture list is a bonus as the club fights on multiple fronts for silverware.
"It is generally an advantage for top teams with broader frameworks," he said. "Because if you play more, one can also give players more playing time.
"If you play only on Saturdays, it does not make so much sense to rotate. Therefore, these teams have an advantage because they cope with larger loads."
Robert Lewandowski has scored just seven in 18 league appearances since moving from Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer last summer, but Hitzfeld believes the Poland international is a better fit for Bayern than Mario Mandzukic, who departed for Atletico Madrid last July.
"[Lewandowski's goalscoring] is certainly in need of improvement, but he needs a longer time to integrate," he added. "But even if he does not make the goals at the moment, he participates in a lot more of the game than Mandzukic... simply because he plays more [according to] Guardiola's philosophy."