Lahm excludes Dortmund during scathing review of Bayern's league rivals

Berlin - With Bayern Munich again miles ahead in its quest for a fifth straight Bundesliga title, club captain Philipp Lahm has slammed rivals' lack of a challenge - with the exception of Borussia Dortmund.

Between the two, Dortmund and Bayern have won the league title every year since 2009, when Wolfsburg lifted the trophy while Borussia was German champions in 2011 and 2012, on rare off-seasons for the Bavarian giants

The 33-year-old Lahm will retire in May and is hoping to sign off with the eighth Bundesliga title.

Bayern is currently 13 points ahead of second-placed RB Leipzig, with fellow Champions League quarter-finalists Dortmund three points further back in third.

But Lahm says the consistent failure over the years of their rivals, barring Dortmund, has made Bayern's life easy.

In an interview with Stern magazine, Lahm said: "Borussia Dortmund has an incredibly talented team, which could have made the (current) Bundesliga season tighter," but added their rivals needed to do more to hold onto their top players to make a sustained bid for honours.

Dortmund and Bayern are Germany's two richest clubs.

For 2015-16, Bayern posted a €54 million profit with Dortmund just behind at €29.4 for the same period - way ahead of both their rivals.

But Lahm, who skippered Germany to the 2014 World Cup title, says the gulf in financial resources between the Bundesliga's 18 clubs is no bigger than it was when Bayern or Dortmund last failed to win the title.

"The financial circumstances in the league were not so different in the years when we were second or fourth," added Lahm.

"I do not believe that it is only down to Bayern Munich that we are doing so well.

"If we have a 13-point lead after 25 games, it means that other well-established clubs, such as Schalke or Wolfsburg, have not been set up so that they win constantly."