Heynckes is in his fourth spell with Bayern and a second stint in charge of Robben, having worked with the 33-year-old when the club won the Treble in 2013.

The interim Bayern coach said players like the ex-Netherlands international "are few and far between."

He said at an Audi sponsorship event: "I think it's a real shame that [Netherlands] failed to qualify for the World Cup because traditionally it's one of the major footballing countries producing some of the great players like [Johann] Cruyff, [Ruud] Gullit, [Marco] van Basten and [Frank] Rijkaard and many, many more.

"You have to place Arjen on a par with these greats because he has been an exceptional player for [Netherlands] over the years -- just like the ones I have just named. It's a real shame. But of course he can now focus on Bayern Munich -- and this is what he will do.

"As I have said in the past, players like Arjen Robben are few and far between. He is highly professional, his self-motivation is unlike most other players. Therefore, I don't think his age is decisive with Arjen. I think he will be able to play this season and next at an extremely high level."