Wayne Rooney only Englishman short-listed for Fifa Ballon D'Or

Wayne Rooney is the only English player nominated for the award (GETTY IMAGES)

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is the only Englishman on the 23-man shortlist for the prestigious Ballon D'Or, which was released by FIFA this morning.

Rooney has bounced back from an awful 2010, helping to guide United to their record 19th league title, reach their third Champions League final in four seasons and contribute to a rapid start to this campaign before the shuddering derby defeat to Manchester City.

Yet the only other United player listed for the award is Nani, who won his club's players' player of the year prize but was surprisingly left out of the starting line-up for the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona at Wembley by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson has been nominated in the coach of the year category, along with Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Only five players on the shortlist have Premier League connections, two of which - Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Aguero - spent only half of 2011 in England - compared to 15 in Spain.

Liverpool's Luis Suarez has been included and while Manchester City fans will be delighted at the recognition afforded to Aguero, they may be surprised at David Silva's omission.

European champions Barcelona lead the way with eight nominees, including Lionel Messi, winner for the last two years, with close rivals Real Madrid boasting five.

Player nominees: Eric Abidal (France), Sergio Aguero (Argentina), Karim Benzema (France), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Dani Alves (Brazil), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Muller (Germany), Nani (Portugal), Neymar (Brazil), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Gerard Pique (Spain), Wayne Rooney (England), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Luis Suarez (Uruguay), David Villa (Spain), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Xavi (Spain).

Coach nominees: Vicente Del Bosque (Spain/Spain national team), Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland/Manchester United FC), Rudi Garcia (France/Lille OSC), Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Barcelona), Jurgen Klopp (Germany/Borussia Dortmund), Joachim Low (Germany/Germany national team), Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Real Madrid), Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay/Uruguay national team), Andre Villas-Boas (Portugal/FC Porto, Chelsea, Arsene Wenger (France/Arsenal).

PA