Goran Pandev has said his vote for José Mourinho as Fifa Coach of the Year was changed to Vicente del Bosque, a day after the Real Madrid boss claimed there were "irregularities" in the system.
Pandev, who was coached by Mourinho at Internazionale, confirmed the Portuguese's suspicions despite Mourinho receiving criticism for attempting to besmirch Spain coach Vicente del Bosque's achievement. As Macedonia captain, Pandev was obligated to cast his vote.
"I voted for Mourinho as best Coach of the year and I am convinced that strange things happened when the votes were counted," Pandev said.
"According to the FIFA list I voted for Vicente Del Bosque, but I voted for Mourinho. I even called him and said I’d vote for him. Unfortunately, odd things happen at FIFA."
Pandev played under Mourinho for four glorious months in 2010
In an interview with Portuguese public service broadcaster RTP, Mourinho revealed the real reason he did not attend the glitzy January ceremony was due to his concerns about the voting system.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque received the accolade with 34.51% of the vote compared to second-place Mourinho's 20.49%.
Pandev now plays for Napoli
The Real Madrid coach claimed he had been told he had won the award but threw a subtle barb at Del Bosque when he added "someone else got it in the end".
"Fifa was aware of these irregularities, knowing they were there, but did nothing to avoid them," he said.
Mourinho won the award in 2010 after guiding Internazionale to a historic treble win, with Del Bosque in second place.