Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal insists that this year's FIFA Ballon d'Or winner should not be Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but should come from the victorious Germany side that won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil this summer.
Ronaldo and Messi are favourites for the prize -- having picked up the last six between them; Messi picking up four and Ronaldo winning in 2013 -- but there are also the likes of Angel Di Maria, James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale to consider.
However, German stars Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gotze are also all nominated on the 23-man FIFA shortlist, but Van Gaal insists that one should walk away with the prize.
"You always have to win something and the best thing to win is the World Championship," Van Gaal told MUTV. "I hope it shall be a German player because they deserve it.
"In Germany, the level of the matches in the Bundesliga is also very high."
Van Gaal, 63, who took over as United manager in the summer, picked up just 13 points from his first 10 games and led the side to their worst start to a top flight league campaign since 1986.
The Dutchman was therefore somewhat surprised to receive a nomination for the coach of the year category, despite leading his side to the World Cup semifinals, saying: "It's unbelievable when you see the results of Manchester United -- it's unbelievable."