Real Madrid star forward Cristiano Ronaldo would be looking to retain the Ballon d’Or award as the shortlist for the FIFA 2014 men’s world footballer of the year award has been revealed.
Wales forward Gareth Bale, who scored 22 goals for Real Madrid last season, is the only player from the home nations on the 23-man list. Five Premier League players in Thibaut Courtois, Diego Costa, Angel Di Maria, Eden Hazard and Yaya Toure have also been nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, who has won the award three times in the last four years, is also on the shortlist, alongside teammate Neymar, The BBC reported.
The 23 shortlist would be reduced to three in December before the winners are announced on 12 January, 2015 in Zurich.
There is no place for Barca striker Luis Suarez, who played a crucial role in helping Uruguay qualify for the last 16 in Brazil but was suspended from all football-related activity for four months for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. Suarez’s suspension meant that under FIFA rules, the 27-year-old, who was the Premier League’s top scorer with 31 goals in 33 matches for Liverpool last year, was not eligible for the shortlist.
In terms of Premier League clubs, Chelsea have the most players on the list with three; Courtois, Costa and Hazard; with Manchester United (Angel Di Maria) and Manchester City (Yaya Toure) each supplying one.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich players dominate the list, with each club supplying six players.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti, who guided Real Madrid to the Champions League, Super Cup and Copa del Rey last season, has been nominated for the coach of the year award.
Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho, Manchester City’s Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal, who guided Netherlands to the third place in the World Cup, are also on the 10-man list for the coach award, alongside World Cup winning coach Joachim Low, the report added.
Source: dnaindia.com