Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane is on a par with the club’s greatest strikers, honorary president Uli Hoeness said on Thursday.

Asked at a charity event on Thursday where he would rank the England captain among the many star forwards in Bayern’s history, the still influential Hoeness told reporters: “We have of course already had true greats such as Gerd Müller and Giovane Elber and then of course Robert Lewandowski. But Harry Kane is absolutely on an equal footing. I would not make any big distinctions there.”

Hoeness then added that club icon Gerd Müller still stood a little ahead of the others because he was also a world champion and won so many titles.

“But what Harry Kane has been producing here for months, or almost one or two years now, is absolutely top class,” enthused Hoeness.

What he especially likes is that the 32-year-old no longer just waits as a centre forward in the box, but also impresses as a playmaker and a personality.

Hoeness said he is very happy with Vincent Kompany’s team, who are leading the Bundesliga and Champions League tables.

“I recently told Vincent when we met for dinner: it used to be that in the 80th minute you hoped the game would be over soon. Now you are in the 80th minute and say, hopefully they keep playing for a long time because it is so much fun,” he said.

However, Hoeness played down speculation teenege winger Lennart Karl could force his way into Germany’s World Cup squad next June by saying the hype was getting too much, despite his strong displays.