Former Bayern Munich midfielder Didi Hamann has claimed Paris Saint-Germain cannot pose a threat to his former side in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Bayern Munich breezed through the group stage, winning all their games and defeating Spanish giants Barcelona in their final game to top Group E. 

Hamann, 48, believes the Bundesliga outfit will face a tougher challenge in the knockout stages and he wants them to avoid coming up against the reigning champions Chelsea and last season's LaLiga winners Atletico Madrid.

Didi Hamann claims Lionel Messi (L), Kylian Mbappe (centre) and Neymar (R) cannot pose a threat to Bayern Munich

But the German insisted he had no concerns about Bayern facing Ligue 1 powerhouse PSG because he believes their attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe pose no threat despite their star power. 

'Of course it would be nice to see Paris Saint-Germain against Bayern again, but I don't think PSG can pose a threat to them as long as they play up front with Messi, Mbappe and Neymar,' he said via Sky Sports Germany.

'The three of them have to play, they will play, but it doesn't work. 

'The win against Man City was an exception because they did something inhuman as a team on the defensive in that game.'

Messi made a sensational move to the French capital in the summer after over 20 years at Barcelona.  

The superstar was recently crowned the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or, but has failed to hit the ground running in Ligue 1 and has scored just six goals across all competitions after joining on a free transfer. 

Messi pipped Bayern star Robert Lewandowski to the award but Hamann felt the Pole had been robbed.  

'But if Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi actually meet, Lewandowski could show the winner of the Ballon d'Or who is the best at the moment,' he said.

Both Neymar and Mbappe were nominated for the prestigious award but the Brazilian has been ruled out for six to eight weeks after he suffered ankle ligament damage, while the 22-year-old has been shrouded in transfer speculation since Real Madrid made a move for him last summer.

Hamann explained that Bayern, Liverpool and Manchester City are the leading forces in the competition this year and revealed he would want to avoid the trio. 

But the former Liverpool man claimed that Bayern should want to avoid Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea side and Atletico Madrid the most. 

'The team that I would like to avoid from Bayern's point of view alongside Chelsea is Atletico Madrid,' he said. 'I've seen them twice this year and they played really well. 

'I can't explain why they struggled so hard in between, but if you get to the last sixteen like Atletico did in that hack in Porto, you have nothing more to lose afterwards.'