Which is the best team in Europe at the moment: Real Madrid or Bayern Munich?

The current edition of the Champions League has a quintet of world-class teams vying for the crown: Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The competition has not been strong in years - in fact, it’s arguable that there has never been a stronger Champions League competition than this year’s installment.

But who is the best? Which of these two challengers can definitively claim to be the world’s premier club side?

By continuity of time it seems that Bayern Munich are one step ahead of the pack But many people think Real Madrid are the favourites to win the current Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti’s squad is in top form; they are out in front in La Liga, have qualified for the Spanish Cup final against Barcelona and the crushing victory against Schalke 04 in the Champions League last 16 first leg tie booked their passage into the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club tournament.

The team work perfectly well in both attack and defense. In attack, Jese has given the team extra scoring options alongside the triumvirate now revered in Spain as the ‘BBC’: Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale. In eight league games, Madrid have scored 22 goals and conceded just three. The rigorous training regime imposed by Ancelotti has made Real Madrid fitter than ever.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in La Liga with 22 goals and third top scorer in Champions League’s history, having netted 11 goals this year. His potency gives Real a genuine trump card - if Ronaldo catches fire, no team in the world can contain him.

But if Real Madrid are enjoying a thus-far perfect seaspn, the German giants Bayern Munich are doing likewise. In fact they are well on their way to repeating the treble they achieved last year, comprising Bundesliga, Champions League and German Cup.

Just like Real, Pep Guardiola’s squad has put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Arsenal in London. Their domestic lead dwarfs Real’s (second-placed Bayer Leverkusen are 19 points adrift). In fact, if they win their next six games, they can set a new domestic record by winning the Bundesliga in March.And they have qualified for the semi-final of the German Cup, where they will face second-division Kaiserslautern.

Stars such as Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery provide a fluid, dynamic spearhead along with Thomas Müller and Mario Mandzukic (third top scorer in the Bundesliga with 13 goals), who play well in every game. Yet it’s the midfield, where a player as feted as Toni Kroos struggles to hold down a regular place, which is the real trump card: few teams in history have boasted the variety of options Bayern currently possess at the core of their team.

Overall, everyone believes Real Madrid are currently the world’s best. Bayern may be stronger collective, but Real can call on Ronaldo, backed up by Ancelotti’s tactical nous. But it’s a close run thing - any of these five elite clubs would make worthy Champions League winners.