Wayne
Rooney's picks for Coach of the Year at the FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony
were for the three managers most strongly linked with replacing Louis
van Gaal at Manchester United, while he also selected Lionel Messi and
Thomas Muller above former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo in the player
vote.
The
England and United captain made Jose Mourinho his first selection,
followed by Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola and Chile manager Jorge
Sampaoli.
The
award was won by Luis Enrique but Rooney did not deem the Spaniard
worthy of a vote, despite the fact he guided Barcelona to the treble
last season.
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Lionel Messi (above) won the player's award in Monday's ceremony and was also voted for in first by Rooney
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Wayne Rooney's choices for Ballon d'Or coach of the year were for the men linked to replacing Louis van Gaal
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Jose Mourinho received Wayne Rooney's top vote after winning the Premier League with Chelsea last season
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Pep Guardiola (left) was Rooney's second selection and Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli was third
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Rooney voted Messi (right) in first place and his former United team-mate Ronaldo in third position
ALL THE WINNERS AT 2015 BALLON D'OR GALA
Ballon d'Or: Lionel Messi
World XI: Manuel
Neuer; Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Dani Alves; Andres Iniesta,
Luka Modric, Paul Pogba; Neymar, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo.
FIFA fair play award: All football organisations supporting refugees.
And
it was another Barcelona hero who took the player award, as Messi beat
Ronaldo to win his fifth Ballon d'Or with almost 14 per cent more
votes.
But Rooney's choices make interesting reading.
Mourinho
has been continuously linked with the managerial job at United, with
his departure from Chelsea coinciding with a slide in form at Old
Trafford under the Dutchman Van Gaal's risk-averse style of play.
While
the Portuguese is the obvious front-runner for any vacancy which could
emerge from a Van Gaal departure, Guardiola would also be considered
after announcing he is leaving Bayern at the end of the season.
Sampaoli, meanwhile, is perhaps an alternative name but led Chile to the Copa America title as host nation in 2015.
Rooney also favoured Messi over his former United team-mate Ronaldo - placing the Portugal man in third
Messi was
first on Rooney's voting slip, Germany and Bayern Munich forward Thomas
Muller second and Ronaldo third, while Roy Hodgson once again went for
an unorthodox option in his choices.
The
England manager selected Chelsea's Eden Hazard as the third best in the
world and also ranked Cristiano Ronaldo above the winner, Lionel
Messi.
Hazard
spearheaded Chelsea's Premier League title triumph last season but has
not replicated anything near to similar form this season at Stamford
Bridge.
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Rooney's three selections are all for managers strongly linked with replacing Louis van Gaal (above)
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The award itself was won by Luis Enrique (centre) after he guided Barcelona to the treble last season
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Cristiano Ronaldo picked former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti as his top selection in the vote
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Real Madrid No 7 and Ronaldo gives the thumbs up with a beaming smile after being interviewed on stage
Lionel Messi topped the voting for the Ballon d'Or with an emphatic 41.33 per cent of the vote on Monday
Last year, Hodgson was derided for making Javier Mascherano his top pick, followed by Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer.
Captains
and managers of each national side vote in the Ballon d'Or, with first
picks taking five points, second picks having three and third picks
winning one.
Messi
topped the overall voting with 41.33 per cent of the vote, with Ronaldo
second on 27.76 and Neymar third, having amassed 7.86 per cent.
Ronaldo's
top pick as manager was Carlo Ancelotti, who he was disappointed to see
leave Real Madrid at the end of last season. Mourinho was second and
Guardiola third.
His player choices were all for his Madrid team-mates, plumping for Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale.
Messi's
coaching selections placed Barcelona boss Enrique in first, followed by
Sampaoli and fellow Argentina countryman and Atletico Madrid boss Diego
Simeone.
In
the player vote, he went for Luis Suarez, Neymar and Andres Iniesta.
Similarly to Ronaldo, he only voted for his club team-mates.
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A pick of the voting for the Ballon d'Or award for best player from international captains across the world
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England manager Roy Hodgson picked Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Eden Hazard as his top three respectively
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Shortlisted duo Neymar (centre) and Messi (right) voted for each other and Luis Suarez in their player picks
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Barcelona forward and Brazil captain Neymar - with bow tie and bowler hat - was third for the main award
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Messi is congratulated by Barcelona team-mate Neymar after receiving 41.33 per cent of the votes
Messi
was the top pick for fellow Ballon d'Or shortlisted nominee Neymar.
The Brazil captain placed Suarez and Ivan Rakitic in second and third.
Elsewhere,
Wales manager Chris Coleman unsurprisingly went for Bale as the best
player, but Ronaldo and Hazard occupied second and third with no place
for Messi.
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