Rome - Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho said Tuesday he would rather one of his own players had won the Ballon d'Or which went to Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

"I'd have preferred that one of our players had won it," the Portuguese coach said when asked about the award going to fellow countryman Ronaldo.

Mourinho said Inter's Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a player who would have deserved the trophy awarded by French magazine France Football.

Meanwhile Inter player and compatriot Figo said he was "proud for the Golden Ball (going) to Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the third player in the history of Portuguese football to win this prestigious prize, after Eusebio in 1965 and mine in 2000." (dpa)