With the battle for the Bundesliga title set to resume this weekend, Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has dismissed defending champions Borussia Dortmund as just a "regional" team.
Bayern, who host Mainz on Saturday, are top of the league with two wins from the opening two rounds of matches, while Dortmund, who are at home to Bayer Leverkusen the same day, are sixth in the league following a win and a draw.
Dortmund have won the Bundesliga title for the last two seasons while Bayern have finished without a major trophy, and Hoeness has made no secret of his irritation with Borussia's recent success.
"Dortmund is a relatively regional thing. Bayern is a global player," insisted the 60-year-old Hoeness at a digital trade fair in Cologne.
"(Dortmund) will never, never, never catch up to our enormous success over the last 30 years.
"They will have to win the German title ten times in a row to perhaps be more popular."
Bayern's 2-1 win over Dortmund in the pre-season Super Cup in Munich broke a five-match losing streak against the German champions dating back to February 2010.
The Bavarians are working hard to break into the Asian market, having toured the Far East on several occasions in recent years, a fact Hoeness was quick to highlight.
"If you walk about in Beijing and ask about a German football club, the reply will always be about Bayern and not Dortmund."
But Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp brushed off Hoeness' comments.
"I do not know whether people in China are aware that Borussia Dortmund is a football club. I don't think that's important," he said.
"The fact that us, or someone else, could get close (to Bayern) and be successful over a few years, is logical.
"That is a statement of fact we have never denied."
The next time Dortmund are set to face Bayern is at Munich's Allianz Arena on Saturday December 1 in the Bundesliga.
