Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar and Suarez on 23-man Ballon d'Or shortlist

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi,
Neymar and Luis Suarez head the
shortlist for the 2015 FIFA Ballon
d'Or.
Real Madrid forward Ronaldo,
who has won the award for the
past two years, is joined by
teammates Gareth Bale, Karim
Benzema, Toni Kroos and James
Rodriguez.
And Barcelona's attacking
triumvirate of Messi -- who is a
four-time winner -- Neymar and
Suarez are listed along with
fellow Blaugrana stars Andres
Iniesta, Javier Mascherano
and Ivan Rakitic. With six, Barca
have the most players
nominated.
It means the two Spanish giants
between them provide almost
half the 23-man shortlist.
Bayern Munich also have five
players -- Robert
Lewandowski, Thomas
Muller, Manuel Neuer, Arjen
Robben and Arturo Vidal.
Five Premier League stars make
the list, headed by Arsenal's
Alexis Sanchez after he helped
Chile to Copa America glory on
home soil in the summer. PFA
Players' Player of the Year Eden
Hazard is the only representative
from Premier League champions
Chelsea.
Manchester City have three
players named: Sergio Aguero,
Yaya Toure and Kevin De
Bruyne. Wales and Real Madrid
forward Bale is the only British
player named.
Juventus' midfielder Paul Pogba
is the only player from Serie A --
though Vidal played the first half
of the year with Juve, with Paris
Saint-Germain striker Zlatan
Ibrahimovic completing the 23.
FIFA #BALLONDOR 23 candidates,
one trophy. Who do you think
will be crowned on 11 January?
https://t.co/VNSyEfqCqo
pic.twitter.com/W0qlYk2FIk
- FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) October
20, 2015
Arsene Wenger and Jose
Mourinho are both on a 10-man
shortlist for the coach of the year
award, alongside Barcelona's
treble-winning coach Luis
Enrique and Bayern Munich's Pep
Guardiola.
Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli is the
only national team coach on the
list, which also includes Juventus
boss Massimiliano Allegri, Sevilla's
Unai Emery, Laurent Blanc of PSG,
Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone
and Carlo Ancelotti, who left Real
Madrid in the summer.
The final vote for the award will
be made by the captains and
head coaches of each men's
national team as well as by
international media
representatives selected by
French publication France
Football.
The final three nominees will be
named on Nov. 30, along with
the announcement of the top 10
goals in the running for the FIFA
Puskas Award.
The winners will be announced
at a ceremony in Zurich on Jan.
11, 2016.
Full list of Ballon d'Or nominees:
Sergio Aguero (Argentina/
Manchester City)
Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid)
Karim Benzema (France/Real
Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real
Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/VfL
Wolfsburg/Manchester City)
Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris
Saint-Germain)
Andres Iniesta (Spain/FC
Barcelona)
Toni Kroos (Germany/Real
Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC
Bayern Munich)
Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC
Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC
Barcelona)
Thomas Muller (Germany/FC
Bayern Munich)
Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC
Bayern Munich)
Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona)
Paul Pogba (France/Juventus)
Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/FC
Barcelona)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands/FC
Bayern Munich)
James Rodriguez (Colombia/Real
Madrid)
Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal)
Luis Suarez (Uruguay/FC
Barcelona)
Yaya Toure (Cote d'Ivoire/
Manchester City)
Arturo Vidal (Chile/Juventus/FC
Bayern Munich)
World Coach of the Year
nominees:
Massimiliano Allegri (Italy/
Juventus)
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Real Madrid)
Laurent Blanc (France/Paris Saint-
Germain)
Unai Emery (Spain/Sevilla FC)
Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Bayern
Munich)
Luis Enrique Martinez (Spain/FC
Barcelona)
Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Chelsea)
Jorge Sampaoli (Argentina/
Chilean national team)
Diego Simeone (Argentina/
Atletico Madrid)
Arsene Wenger (France/Arsenal)