Louis van Gaal: 'A German player should win Ballon d'Or'

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal believes that a German footballer should win this year's Ballon d'Or.

As it stands, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo is the favourite to claim the accolade for the second year running, while Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi is also in contention.

However, due to the fact that Germany won the World Cup in Brazil this summer, Van Gaal has insisted that it should be one of that victorious squad that takes the prize.

"I think that it will be Ronaldo or Messi, but I want to say that you have to win something and the best thing to win of course is the World Cup," he told the club's official website. "I hope that it shall be a German player [that wins the Ballon d'Or] because they deserve it.

"Also, in Germany, the level of the matches in the Bundesliga is very high, so I think that it should be a German player."

Six Germans - Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller, Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Manuel Neuer - have been shortlisted for the award, with the winner being announced early next year.