And it is no surprise to see that Cristiano
Ronaldo is favourite for the prize after playing such a big part in Real
Madrid's décima last season.
Teammate Gareth Bale is the only British
player included, as well as archrival Lionel Messi, while five Premier League
players find themselves on the (quite long) shortlist. They are Diego Costa,
Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Angel Di Maria and Yaya Toure.
Meanwhile, three current Premier League
managers find themselves nominated for the Fifa World Coach of the Year award.
But that doesn't stop us asking the
important questions about some of the missing - or present - names:
1) Where is Luis Suarez?
Getty Luis Suarez (C) poses with the Goden
Boot Trophy as the best goal scorer in all European Leagues
Best goalscorer in Europe's top five
leagues... but not on the Ballon d'Or list
He loves a bite, of that there can be no
doubt, but despite his numerous and quite significant flaws, what can't be
argued is that wee Luis had a pretty good season last year.
In fact, it was one of the best by any
Premier League striker ever - scoring 31 goals in 33 Premier League appearances
and generally vanquishing any team that stood in his path.
Yet Eden Hazard is on the list ahead of
him? Curious.
Luis Suarez's Liverpool record
133
Games
82
Goals
2) Is a good world cup enough to get you on
the list?
Julian Finney Javier Mascherano of
Argentina tackles Arjen Robben of the Netherlands as he attempts a shot against
goalkeeper Sergio Romero during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Semi Final match
between the Netherlands and Argentina at Arena de Sao Paulo on July 9, 2014 in
Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The monster Masche: Javier Mascherano was
great in Brazil, but is that enough?
Javier Mascherano was probably one of the
top three performers at this summer's World Cup in Brazil.
He dragged Argentina to the final, covering
huge amounts of ground as he balanced out an attacking team built around Lionel
Messi.
And all after a pretty mediocre season - by
his standards - at Barcelona.
3) Why isn't Brendan's name in the
envelope?
Brendan Rodgers may sometimes verge on the
David Brent with his unusual delivery and confused footballing jargon.
But, like the above Luis, there does seem
to be a bit of an oversight in excluding the Northern Irishman after he so
overachieved with the Reds last year.
Action Images Liverpool manager Brendan
Rodgers before the match
Real Mad: Brendan looking peeved at last
week's Champions League tie
Granted, he didn't match the heights of
Diego Simeone's overachievement at the Calderón, but he only fell - or slipped -
a few points short of winning the most unlikely league title for around 20
years. Maybe even longer.
And all while playing attractive, attacking
football.
No doubt he'll find a philosophical way to
think about it.
4) ...and then why is Jose Mourinho on it?
So if Brendan Rodgers misses out on the
list, then how come his mentor Jose Mourinho makes it?
Chelsea finished below Liverpool, spent
more, and won no trophies - so it was hardly a season of vintage coaching
excellence from the Blues boss.
So are they basing it on Mourinho's men
being a few points clear at the top in October?
If so, they shouldn't.
(Nb. This is usually the point that everyone
blames the meeeeja)
5) Can a goalkeeper ever win it?
No, probably not.
Manuel Neuer is great, but if he were to
win in an era where we have two of the greatest attacking players to ever play
the game then we should all have football confiscated from us.
6) Is Andres Iniesta a justified inclusion?
Friedemann Vogel - FIFA
The picture that tells the story of
Iniesta's summer
This feels a little bit like sacrilege, but
it begs the question over how the shortlist is compiled.
Is Iniesta among the top 23 most talented
players in the world? Of course. But so is Luis Suarez, easily, and he didn't
make it.
Did Iniesta have anything even approaching
a good year last year? I'm not so sure.
Three goals and seven assists in 35 La Liga
games is not a great haul. Teammate Cesc Fabregas got more.
Hey, even Carlos Vela got 16 goals and 12
assists in a far worse side and he wasn't tainted by one of the most disastrous
World Cup campaigns ever seen.
7) ...which leads us on to Koke
As in last night's ludicrous La Liga
awards, Atletico Madrid were criminally overlooked.
Of course, you could argue that their
success was down to team ethic, hustle and fight , and thus their individuals
didn't shine as much.
But that would be overlooking the
contribution of players like Koke to their astonishing achievements last
season. Atleti, let's remember, smashed the duopoly that looked set to keep a
chokehold on La Liga for years and years to come. And they did it on a fraction
of the budget.
Ice cold: Koke was inexplicably omitted
from the shortlist
Oh, and they were a matter of minutes from
pairing that with a Champions League trophy.
Koke was at the centre of that, and even
put up better stats than the aforementioned Iniesta - so his absence remains a
sad mystery.
8) Klinsmann?
Klinsmann bows out of the World Cup at the
last 16 stage - then gets nominated for coach of the year
Right, there is no doubt that the USA were
great fun at the World Cup and involved in some ripsnorting games.
But the German took a consistently top
20-ranked side to the last 16 of a tournament and got nominated as one of the
best 10 coaches in the world?!
Surely Costa Rica's Jorge Luis Pinto - who
emerged from a tougher group than the Americans before narrowly losing on
penalties to the Dutch - should be considered after getting a round further
than Klinsmann?
