The decision to name Philipp Lahm as Germany's Footballer of the Year has reduced the vote "to absurdity," Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos' agent has said.
Former Germany and Bayern Munich captain Lahm, 33, won the award for the first time at the weekend.
Lahm, who retired at the end of last season, took the prize -- organised by football magazine kicker and voted for by journalists -- in an outcome that Volker Struth said left him "very surprised and astonished."
In a statement on his Sport Total agency's website, Struth said he felt the vote had been determined by "emotional criteria."
He said it should have "honoured the outstanding player of the past season, and that was without a doubt Toni Kroos," who won the Champions League title with Madrid.
"This is not a singular opinion, because feedback from several club and media people from the Bundesliga and abroad endorsed my position," Struth added.
"Philipp Lahm is an extraordinary footballer, but Toni Kroos should have been named Footballer of the Year.
"The vote for the Footballer of the Year has been reduced to absurdity."
Lahm, who succeeded Bayern and Germany defender Jerome Boateng as the winner, said at the weekend he felt "the journalists in the vote have watched me for my entire career."
Meanwhile, Bayern president Uli Hoeness expressed his surprise at the timing of the award.
"It's very surprising that he's only won it now," Hoeness told reporters in Singapore. "Philipp deserved to win it much earlier."
ESPN FC's Bayern correspondent, Mark Lovell, contributed to this report.