Five
Barclays Premier League stars and one Brit - Gareth Bale - have been
named on FIFA's 23-man shortlist for the 2014 Ballon d'Or.
Current
holder Cristiano Ronaldo and four-time winner Lionel Messi are again
the favourites but there is no place on the shortlist for former
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, who was banned for four months in July
for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.
Real Madrid's Welsh winger Gareth Bale celebrates winning the Champions League back in May
Bale's Real team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo won his second Ballon d'Or in Zurich last year
Argentina and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is in the running for his fifth Ballon d'Or
Six members of Germany's World Cup-winning squad have been nominated, making them the most represented country on the list.
The
five players based in England on the shortlist are Chelsea trio Eden
Hazard, Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois, Manchester City's Yaya Toure
and Manchester United's Angel Di Maria.
It
appears Suarez's World Cup bite on Giorgio Chiellini has cost him a
place on the Ballon d'or shortlist despite a prolific season for
Liverpool before the tournament.
The
FIFA guidebook for selecting the candidates reads: 'The selection
criteria for the players of the year (men's and women's) are: sporting
performance as well as general behaviour on and off the pitch from 30
November 2013 until 21 November 2014.'
Six players from Germany's World Cup-winning squad including captain Philipp Lahm (2nd left) are nominated
Chelsea's Eden Hazard leads a five-strong Premier League contingent and is one of two Belgians named
IN PICTURES: THE 23 PLAYERS ON THE BALLON D'OR SHORTLIST
Real Madrid's Welsh star Gareth Bale scored in the Champions League final as Atletico were beaten 4-1
Karim Benzema was also part of that victorious Real squad, scoring in the semi-final with Bayer
Diego Costa has adapted to life in the Premier League effortlessly and has scored regularly for Chelsea
On loan goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois helped Atletico Madrid win the La Liga title last season
Cristiano Ronaldo scored Real Madrid's fourth goal in their Champions League final win over Atletico
Angel Di Maria has made an excellent start to life at Manchester United since his £60m move from Madrid
Mario Gotze lifts the World Cup for Germany after scoring the winning goal in the final with Argentina
Eden Hazard has been consistently excellent in his performances for Chelsea this year
Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title last season
Spain and Barcelona midfield master Andres Iniesta has made the longlist for the Ballon d'or award
Toni Kroos scores for Germany in their World Cup semi-final rout of Brazil
Philipp Lahm captained Germany to World Cup glory out in Brazil over the summer
Javier Mascherano helped Argentina reach the World Cup final in the backyard of rivals Brazil
Lionel Messi enjoyed another successful year for Argentina and Barcelona
Thomas Muller enjoyed another prolific year and lifted the World Cup for Germany over the summer
Manuel Neuer makes a stunning one-handed save from France's Karim Benzema at the World Cup
Neymar's World Cup dream was ended by a back injury but he was massively influential for Brazil
Paul Pogba won another Serie A title with Juventus in 2014 and played for France at the World Cup
Sergio Ramos won the Champions League with Real Madrid and scored in the Lisbon final
Arjen Robben celebrates Holland's victory over Costa Rica in the World Cup quarter-final
Colombia's James Rodriguez was one of the stars of the World Cup and earned a move to Real Madrid
Bastian Schweinsteiger was influential in Germany's World Cup triumph over the summer
Yaya Toure was outstanding as Manchester City won the Premier League title last season
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