Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has revealed a rather bizarre exchange with USA president Donald Trump.
Trump was on the podium when Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final to win their second star.
He and the state leaders from the other hosts – Mexico and Canada – greeted the players who were given medals before the trophy list.
De la Fuente had a moment with Trump, and was asked about it on TV show El Hormiguero.
De la Fuente reveals Trump conversation
“Trump told me I deserved the Ballon d’Or,” he said with a laugh. “Then he said something else, but I’m still working on my English.
“Just in case, I replied ‘thank you very much’.”
The Ballon d’Or is obviously only given to players, with the shortlist of 30 nominees announced by France Football.
However, De la Fuente is in the five-man shortlist for the coaching award and will compete with Luis Enrique.
Asked again about Trump, De la Fuente commented on the president boasting about getting Folarin Balogun’s red card overturned for the US national team.
De la Fuente reacts to Balogun incident
“Football has to make its own decisions, regardless of what external agents say,” he responded. “FIFA should not be influenced by anyone.”
Finally, De la Fuente spoke about managing the final amid some brutal tactics from Argentina.
Enzo Fernandez was deservedly sent off for a brutal second yellow card, and then a melee broke out at the final whistle where Leandro Paredes disgraced himself with an attack on Gavi and Eric Garcia.
De la Fuente said: “What happened on the pitch is normal. I played in the 80s and that kind of hard play is normal.
“If we played into their game, they would take us out of our element. Not because we didn’t want a fight, but because we wanted to show that we are true to our style.
“What happened at the end of the game is inadmissible. It is unacceptable. It cannot happen again.”
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