'Lewandowski will be better than Ronaldo is at 35', says Bayern chief

Rummenigge believes Bayern Munich can still enjoy many great years from Lewandowski, who he expects to surpass Ronaldo along the way.

Robert Lewandowski may have just turned 32 this month, but he was arguably the best player in Europe last season with a stunning 55 goals and 10 assists in 47 games to his name.

His exploits played a key part in Bayern winning the Bundesliga, DFB Cup, and Champions League to complete their first treble since 2012/13.

Aside from the club’s trophy count, however, Lewandowski finished top-scorer in all three competitions. He also surpassed his career-best tally of 43 goals in 2016/17 by a 12-goal margin.

But Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who scored an impressive 217 goals in 420 games during his own Bayern career, expects Lewandowski to even outdo Cristiano Ronaldo in the upcoming years.

“Lewandowski is perhaps the best professional I have ever seen here at Bayern,” the now-Bayern chairman told Welt am Sonntag.

“He played the season of his life, and lives for Bayern Munich.

“At 35, Robert will be even better than Cristiano Ronaldo is at 35. He’s a wonderful role model for our younger lads.”

Ronaldo himself turned 35 in February, yet still managed a resounding 37 goals and seven assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for Juventus last season.

Matching or surpassing such a tally for any player that age, therefore, seems an enormous challenge to say the least. However, Lewandowski may have the potential to do so.

Not only is the Pole still a mean goal machine, but his fitness levels have always been outstanding. He’s actually famous in Germany for his approach to nutrition and fitness.

This once led his old teammates at Borussia Dortmund to nickname him ‘The Body’ and even left Pep Guardiola impressed during their time together at Bayern.

“His diet, his lifestyle – it’s all geared towards success,” said Rummenigge.

“The times when I’ve gone into the dressing room and seen his upper body – he’s like an Adonis. He’s as good as it gets.”

One key factor Lewandowski has often credited for his own fitness is his wife, Anna.

Aside from winning bronze at the 2009 Karate World Cup, she has a degree in Physical Education and is a health, nutrition, and fitness expert.