Wayne Rooney selected former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho as his top pick for Coach of the Year at Monday night's FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Mourinho, who was sacked as Chelsea boss last month just seven months after winning the Premier League, has been linked with a move to Old Trafford to replace under-fire boss Louis van Gaal.
And the Manchester United captain selected Mourinho as his first choice to win the award ahead of Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola and Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli.
Guardiola has also been linked with a move to Manchester United following his admission that he is ready to move to the Premier League after announcing he will leave Bayern in the summer.
Despite Rooney's votes, it was Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique who beat Guardiola and Sampaoli to win the Coach of the Year award.
The 45-year-old was honoured at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich on Monday, having led Barca to a magnificent treble of the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey trophies in his first season in charge.
Enrique comfortably took the prize after claiming 31 per cent of the votes, with Guardiol (23 per cent) and Sampaoli (nine per cent).
Mourinho received a total of 99 votes - 28 for first place, 28 for second place and 43 for third place - earning him a share of around five per cent.
In comparison, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who led Arsenal to an FA Cup triumph at Wembley last May, earned 60 votes; eight for first place, 19 for second place and 33 for third place.
Cristiano Ronaldo also voted for Mourinho but behind former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, despite the Italian being out of work for most of 2015.
Ancelotti was sacked by Madrid in May after the 2014-15 season but will take over at Bayern Munich when Pep Guardiola - who earned Ronaldo's final vote - leaves in summer.