THE 23-man candidates for the prestigious prize sees Cristiano Ronaldo head the favourites’ pack, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi not far behind, and a host of outsiders such as Angel Di Maria and Mario Götze all propping up.
The exclusion of Luis Suarez is purely down to this year’s World Cup shame where he was red carded and received a ban.
There is no England player on the shortlist that includes:
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, Real Madrid
Lionel Messi, Argentina, Barcelona
Neymar, Brazil, Barcelona
Gareth Bale, Wales, Real Madrid
Thibaut Courtois, Belgium, Chelsea
Angel Di Maria, Argentina, Manchester United
Yaya Toure, Ivory Coast, Manchester City
Karim Benzema, France, Real Madrid
Diego Costa, Spain, Chelsea
Eden Hazard, Belgium, Chelsea
Mario Gotze, Germany, Bayern Munich
Toni Kroos, Germany, Real Madrid
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden, Paris Saint-Germain
Andres Iniesta, Spain, Barcelona
Philipp Lahm, Germany, Bayern Munich
Javier Mascherano, Argentina, Barcelona
Manuel Neuer, Germany, Bayern Munich
Thomas Muller, Germany, Bayern Munich
Arjen Robben, Netherlands, Bayern Munich
Paul Pogba, France, Juventus
James Rodriguez, Colombia, Real Madrid
Sergio Ramos, Spain, Real Madrid
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany, Bayern Munich