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Cristiano Ronaldo is the bookmakers' favourite to win the 2014 Ballon d'Or award for a second straight year after the 23-man shortlist was named on Tuesday morning by Fifa.
Ronaldo, who was also crowned the best player in the world in 2008, has enjoyed an incredible year that saw him win the Champions League and Copa del Rey trophies with Real Madrid. But who could challenge Ronaldo for the award?
Five of his current team-mates join him on the list with Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez and most notably Gareth Bale included, with the £86m signing the only British player to gain recognition this year.
Real's fierce rivals Barcelona are well represented with four-time winner Lionel Messi joined by Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano, but Luis Suarez is controversially omitted from the shortlist.
World Cup winners' Germany have six players on the list as Kroos is joined by Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Bastian Schweinsteiger and World Cup final hero Mario Gotze.
The Premier League may not have an Englishman to boast of, but at least five of it's foreign stars have been named as Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois of Chelsea are joined by Angel Di Maria and Yaya Toure of Manchester United and Manchester City respectively.
Click on the gallery below to see the full 23-man shortlist for the 2014 Fifa Ballon d'Or.
Show all 23 1 /23Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Gareth Bale (Real Madrid and Wales) Appearances: 41
Goals: 21
The world’s most expensive player made his mark in the Copa del Rey final as he out-powered and out-paced the Barcelona defence to score the match winner, but he managed to trump it with the goal that put Real Madrid ahead in the Champions League final.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and France) Appearances: 44
Goals: 23
Benzema finally established himself as the number one striker at Real after Gonzalo Higuain left the club, and he repaid the faith shown in him by Carlo Ancelotti by striking up a formidable partnership with Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and Spain) Appearances: 37
Goals: 22
Costa’s prowess in front of goal was a key factor in securing the La Liga title for Atletico Madrid, and he has continued his tremendous form for Chelsea in shooting them to the top of the Premier League. Now he just needs to get firing on all cylinders for his country.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and Belgium) Appearances: 45
Goals: 0
Courtois has finally secured the number one shirt at Chelsea, but his three years with Atletico Madrid certainly proved fruitful with the culmination of a La Liga success meaning he has more league winners’ medals than most of the Chelsea squad.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal) Appearances: 39
Goals: 45
Fifa might as well award Ronaldo the trophy now. The reigning Ballon D’or holder is the overwhelming favourite to win the trophy come the 12 January, and his current record of more goals than games played in 2014 is also replicated in his entire time spent with Real.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid, Manchester United and Argentina) Appearances: 38
Goals: 7
Di Maria is included for his fine end to the season with Real Madrid that helped them secure La Decima, with a switch to a central role proving to be a shrewd decision. He also helped Argentina reach the final of the World Cup, but was hampered late by injury. He’s made a good start to his United career and looks to be a real gem of the Premier League.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich and Germany) Appearances: 43
Goals: 15
He’ll go down in history as the man who won the 2014 World Cup for Germany, with his extra-time winner sparking celebrations across the globe. His form for Bayern Munich though should not be ignored, and he consistently provides reminders of just how talented he is.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Eden Hazard (Chelsea and Belgium) Appearances: 43
Goals: 11
Hazard has spoken of his ambition to be on the same level as Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and he’s shown signs this season that he is continuing to develop into one of the world’s best. He’ll want to add more goals to his game, but he’s one of the first names on the team-sheet for the Blues.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain and Sweden) Appearances: 26
Goals: 20
The now veteran striker missed out on going to the World Cup with Sweden and was hampered by injury late last season, but he still cracked 20 goals for club and country and remains one of the most lethal finishers in world football.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Andres Iniesta (Barcelona and Spain) Appearances: 38
Goals: 2
Iniesta’s trade comes in laying on goals for his team-mates, and while he is part of a Barcelona and Spain side that looks to be slightly exposed, he continues to demonstrate an astonishing quality with the ball at his feet.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Germany), Appearances: 44
Goals: 5
Kroos emerged as one of Germany’s leading midfielders not so long ago, and he was a crucial cog in their World Cup side that saw Joachim Low choose him as his established holding midfielder. He left Bayern for Real Madrid in the summer, but has been a regular since arriving in Spain.
Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich and Germany) Appearances: 40
Goals: 3
The World Cup-winning captain brought the curtain down on his international career after reaching the pinnacle during the summer, and that came after yet another Bundesliga win with Bayern Munich. Outstanding both in defence and midfield, there is simply no limits to his football ability.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Javier Mascherano (Barcelona and Argentina) Appearances: 30
Goals: 0
The Argentinian may have never scored for Barcelona, but he has emerged as the go-to centre-back in the Catalans’ defence having surpassed Gerard Pique. He has a habit for a yellow card, but that often bails Barcelona out when they need it most, and he’s certainly calmed down since his Premier League days.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina) Appearances: 44
Goals: 35
Messi appears powerless at the moment to stop Cristiano Ronaldo from staking his claim as the best player in the world, but write off the little maestro at your peril. Such are his standards, 35 goals in 44 games appears to be below-par, but don’t be surprised if he proves the doubters wrong once again.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich and Germany) Appearances: 43
Goals: 20
Muller is often earmarked as the man Germany don’t really need, given their talent in midfield. But he was red-hot at the World Cup and helped himself to five goals in Brazil. He has also shown up Robert Lewandowski since the Pole arrived in Munich, and that’s no easy feat.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany) Appearances: 44
Goals: 0
Neuer has been the slightly alternative selection of many to win the Ballon D’or, with former striker Andriy Shevchenko giving his backing to the goalkeeper. Neuer is widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world, and the trophy – while surprising – would certainly be deserved.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Neymar (Barcelona and Brazil) Appearances: 33
Goals: 19
The Brazilian was the poster boy of the World Cup in his homeland, and may have added to his four goals had he not suffered a broken back in the win over Colombia. He has scored more goals than Barcelona team-mate Messi this season, and appears to be hitting his best a year after moving to Spain.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Paul Pogba (Juventus and France) Appearances: 42
Goals: 5
The one who got away for Manchester United, Pogba has emerged as one of the leading defensive midfielders in the game and helped the Old Lady to their third straight Serie A title this year. He has also become a central figure in the France squad, which is no easy thing to do.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain) Appearances: 42
Goals: 8
He may love a red card, but Ramos is still one of the best centre-backs around. He enjoyed a fantastic year for Real which included a run of goals towards the back end of last season, and he also netted the crucial equaliser in the Champions League final victory.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich and Netherlands) Appearances: 40
Goals: 15
It wasn’t Robben’s greatest year, but he still shone for club and country as Bayern retained their league title and the Netherlands reached the World Cup semi-finals, with a lot of help coming from the outstanding winger.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist James Rodriguez (Monaco, Real Madrid and Colombia), Appearances: 37
Goals: 16
Rodriguez was the revelation of the summer as he shone for Colombia, with his wonder goal against Uruguay a worthy candidate for the greatest World Cup goal ever scored. He secured the ‘dream’ move to Real where he hasn’t made as big an impact as he would’ve liked, but he has still managed four goals this season.
Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich and Germany) Appearances: 23
Goals: 5
Schweinsteiger is a somewhat surprising selection despite the obvious plaudits coming with Bayern Munich and Germany. He has played the least games of any player that has made the shortlist, and hasn’t made an appearance since the World Cup final due to injury. His talent remains undoubted, but whether or not he did enough to merit a place on the list remains a keen talking point.
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Ballon D'or 2014 23-man shortlist Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Cote d'Ivoire) Appearances: 41
Goals: 15
City’s sole representative on the list had a bitter-sweet year, with the Premier League and League Cup double tainted by the row over the aptly named ‘birthday cake-gate’ and the tragedy of losing his brother Ibrahim Toure during the World Cup after a battle with cancer.
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Who do you think deserves to be in the top-three, which will be announced on the 1 December? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below.
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