Bayern Munich leader Uli Hoeness ruffled some feathers a week ago when he placed his team's individual people roughly on par with these from Real Madrid and Barcelona. Hoeness' prices have been considerably edited in most English sources, a lot of which have implied that he would not take Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo at Bayern. When asked which players from Barcelona and Real Madrid he felt would be welcome changes to the Bayern group, he singled out Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba.AHoeness added: "I think there are just one or two Barca and Real players who'd begin for Bayern - [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi excluded." Surprisingly, the bit on Messi and Ronaldo has been omitted from many English-language media sources. It is generally within the German media. It must also be outlined that Hoeness commented which players he'd welcome to Bayern that would fit into the staff, maybe not who is "better" or "worse" than players in the German giants' team. To distinguish the difference, consider Xavi. He may be better than some of Bayern's midfielders right now, but at 33 years old, he'll only declineAbetween now and his looming retirement. His value is overridden by age as a temporary improvement: his steady decline and approaching retirement makes as a move selection for leading groups like Bayern him ugly. This would explain Hoeness' preference for Iniesta, a younger person of equally exceptional class. Having set the record straight about what Hoeness did and didn't say, his prices stay very interesting and are worth scrutiny. Are Alba and Iniesta the sole two people from Barcelona or Real Madrid who'd be considered a distinct step-up for Bayern? And would they themselves indeed be noted improvements? Neuer: Not a step down from Casillas or ValdesManuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images Beginning with the goalkeeper place, neither Victor Valdes nor Iker Casillas is a significant improvement upon Manuel Neuer. Both inside their 30s, the Spanish corks are approaching the normal physical decline. And though Casillas is world-class, therefore is Neuer. The argument as to which can be the higher goalkeeper is irrelevant: The simple the reality is that both are great and there could be no basis for Bayern to risk getting Casillas to a tradition and new group. At right-back, Bayern have their leader and a world-class skill in Philipp Lahm. Alvaro Arbeloa is the smallest person in the True Madrid beginning lineup, and will be ideal to Bayern only as a backup. Dani Alves is half the ball player he was in 2009; he is adopted in the actions of compatriots Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka in beginning his decline prematurely. In central safety, Bayern's best pair consists of Dante and Holger Badstuber, with Jerome Boateng on the bench. Barca's most useful are Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique; Javier Mascherano is just a homeless holding midfielder. True Madrid have Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Raphael Varane. Puyol, because of his turning 35 next month, is is often injured and nearing the conclusion of an illustrious career. He will be sorely missed at Barca when he retires, but can do little for another leading team. As Pepe has established time and time again in big games for team and country, his lack of baseball skills make him an undesirable choice against important teamsa'the very form Bayern play on a normal basis in the Bundesliga. Peek and Ramos, along side Pepe, all are extremely vunerable to being orange carded. While the loves of Thiago Silva and Mats Hummelsa'truly great defendersa'will only be scheduled once or twice in a period, they average around the exact same amount of dismissals. Pique has been yellow carded 73 occasions and been dismissed on eight occasions in 315 looks in his career. Ramos' bookings tally at a staggering 152 yellow and 16 red cards in 456 career excursions. Dante (56 yellows, five reds in 252 appearances) and Badstuber (44 yellows and two reds in 279 appearances) play more precisely and have run in a few of the best defenses in Bundesliga history (Bayern have conceded only 36 targets since the beginning of the 2011-12 year). Again, there's little of an improvementa'if anya'by putting Pique and/or Ramos, so there will be no point in risking getting sometimes to a new category and culture. Varane is a different story. Bayern wanted to sign him from Lens in 2011, and he is the type of player that Breno was said to be. Still per month away from his 20th birthday, Varane has performed remarkably against Barcelona, and Real Madrid's record of goals admitted with him and an Ricardo Carvalho in protection is considerably better than with Ramos and Pepe. Hoeness made an error in maybe not singling out Varane as a person who would be considered a great signing for Bayern. Varane: The one who got awayJasper Juinen/Getty Images Seeking to the left-backs, Bayern have a treasure in David Alaba. You can argue whether he, Jordi Alba, Fabio Coentrao or Marcelo is the better, but there is no denying that the Austriana'who still is just two decades olda'has probably the most room for development set alongside the others, who're all 24 or older. Alaba put on virtuoso exhibits for Bayern in the Champions League against Real Madrid last year and is fast becoming among the world's best left-backs. Really, he is equally skilled in attack and defense. In this regard, Hoeness is dead wrong: Bayern don't have any requirement for Jordi Alba. In central midfield, Bayern's best are Bastian Schweinsteiger, Javi Martinez and Toni Kroos. Barca have Xavi, whose years as mentioned make him an unhealthy choice, along with Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta. Real have Xabi Alonsoa'who at 31 can also be reduced being an needless playera'as well as Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil. Schweinsteiger, Bayern's vice-captain, is a lock. He's amazingly flexible and he takes his membership to another stage, though sometimes inconsistent. While the latter is more established on a top level Martinez is comparable however you like and attributes to Busquets;, the former is not far behind in terms of his ability to do the straightforward things. Similarly, Khedira could be at a higher level than Martinez, but the qualities he offers aren't exactly the most essential features where you can create a group. For all his numerous quality, Toni Kroos is a stage behind Mesut Ozil and Andres Iniesta. Hoeness was definitely to select Iniesta as a new player who might enhance Bayern greatly. The midfielder is very flexible and excessively reliable in big games. And as his 29th birthday techniques, he still includes a few years before his decline begins. The only real drawback to establishing Iniesta into the Bayern staff is that it'd require a creation move from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3. Both Ozil and Iniesta would dramatically increase the Bayern team.Denis Doyle/Getty Images Mesut Ozil wouldn't require this kind of change; he could perform as the main playmaker in Bayern's present 4-2-3-1 startup. And he would most definitely be an improvement over Kroos. The ex-Bremen man's skill would go to waste at Real Madrid, where he plays second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo. When he runs out for Germany, Ozil is the heart of all approaching playa'and there, he seems like the best playmaker on the planet. He had have a similar function at Bayern, and could be anticipated to produce on a similar amount. On the wings, Bayern have Franck Ribery and Thomas MAller. Hoeness' assessment omitted Cristiano Ronaldo, so Real Madrid's contrast is Angel di Maria. Barcelona have Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez or an out-of-position Mark Property or Cesc Fabregas. Despite being younger than both,AMAller has scored more goals and provided more helps than PedroAand Alexis in domestic group play, and has led to more goals in the Champions League. The German obtained in the Champions League final and was prime scorer at the 2010 World Cup. He's precisely the type of player an instructor ought not to consider replacing. Ribery is a target unit for Bayern since going to Munich in 2007, but he's certainly running in short supply of time, as he approaches his 30th birthday. Property isn't any older and will be an ill-suited alternative, while Fabregas isn't undoubtedly a winger of course. Di Maria could very well be the best option substitute, but his individualism would make him an unhealthy fit at Bayern. He would probably perform only as backup to Ribery and Muller at Bayern, who would be better to look elsewhere for an upgraded for the Frenchman as he grows older. Ribery will eventually need to be replaced, but there are options more skilled than Di Maria.Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images The last situation is that of center forward, where Barcelona have just Messi, who was excluded from Hoeness' investigation. True Madrid have Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain, while Bayern have Mario Gomez and Mario Mandzukic. While Benzema is a superb striker with the ability to report some stunning targets, his attack price is quite low for a striker on as Real Madrid this type of gifted team. Confidence doesn't be exactly inspired by a record of eight goals in 22 appearances in La Liga this season, and since going to Spain he's won a great but modest 52 occasions in 116 games. Higuain has found the target 102 times in 181 Primera fits. Gomez includes a better strike price (134 objectives in 231 games) in domestic play, and won 20 times in the Champions League in the two decades preceding an injury-blighted 2012-13. The ex-Stuttgart person could have his errors, but neither Benzema or Higuain did enough as an important step to prove himself up. To conclude, Hoeness has a valid point because Barcelona and Real Madrid's participants aren't just a step up from those in Bayern's group, but his personal tests are questionable. Jordi Alba would be an luxury for Bayern, who'd greatly benefit not only from the addition of Iniesta, but from the signings of Mesut Ozil and (albeit to a much lesser degree) Angel di Maria. Regardless, Hoeness' speculations originated from the land of fantasy; Bayern may sign neither Alba or Iniesta. But his bold claims may soon be put to the test in the Champions League: If Bayern are to maintain Europe's most coveted prize, they may face both Real Madrid and Barcelona along the way. Follow Clark Whitney on Facebook
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