West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce has paid tribute to Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

He wrote in the London Evening Standard: "You couldn't possibly argue with Cristiano Ronaldo's award of the Ballon d'Or.

"As a one-off, though, I wouldn't have complained had Bayern Munich's German international goalkeeper Manuel Neuer won it.

"For me, he's a goalkeeping footballer. He reads situations so well that Germany can play a high line safe in the knowledge that, if you hit the ball into the space behind them, Neuer will deal with it."