Jérôme Boateng is pleased with his old club’s performance this season despite not returning to Bayern Munich.

“The League title is always a must at Bayern and must be the goal with this team, even though Xabi Alonso is doing outstandingly well with Leverkusen,” Boateng told German site kicker. Bayern are performing considerably better than the media is portraying them; their record speaks for itself, with the exception of the DFB-Pokal elimination.”

The 35-year-old free agent center-back believes that makes the Bavarians a top Champions League candidate. Bayern swept their group this season, finishing first with two matches left.

Unsurprisingly, Bayern alum Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City leads the pack.

“The group stage was good, not great, but not a reference. After the round of 16, things get exciting. Boateng determined that Manchester City are ahead of Real Madrid, FC Bayern, and possibly [Arsenal FC].