Real Madrid great Hugo Sanchez has hailed the progress of Karim Benzema in recent seasons.

Sanchez was asked by Marca if he was better than the Frenchman.

He replied: "It is very difficult, these are answers that you must answer first and not me, because I am very respectful in terms of eras and times.

"What I am sure is that players like Pelé and Beckenbauer, who are older than me, would succeed in today's soccer, and so would all the great players who have been participating in this wonderful sport that is soccer. I feel that because of the physical conditions and the training and preparation that we have today, we can say that people nowadays, like Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi, if they had been born in the 50's and so many years in the time of Pelé, Beckenbauer, in our time, would be shining exactly the same way.

"The great talents and the great footballers, the successful people, I believe that they would succeed in any period of life.

"We have to enjoy each one's moment and time and be thankful that they have given us that reference for those of us who have followed them.

"On my side, my reference was Pelé, apart from other Mexican players who were playing professionally when I was a kid."