World Football governing body FIFA has announced the list of 23 nominations for prestigious Ballon dai??i??Or award today and except Luis Suarez, there are no big surprises. We assess all 23 nominees and check their chances of winning this Oscar of Football in January 2015.
La Liga has highest 10 nominations for Ballon dai??i??Or. Bundesliga is at second position with 6 nominations while wordsai??i?? richest league, English Premier League, has only 5 representatives for this award.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have won last 6 Ballon dai??i??Or between themselves and it is going to be interesting to see whether any other player becomes successful in breaking the duopoly of this superstar duo. Here, we look at all 23 nominees of Ballo dai??i??Or and assess the key moments of his career in past one year.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Ronaldo failed miserably in the World Cup in Brazil because of his injury concerns but he was the most important player of Real Madridai??i??s Champions League squad. Ronaldo has also started the new season with a bang as he already has 16 goals to his name in just 9 games in La Liga so far.
Lionel Messi: The form of Lionel Messi was not very consistent during the course of last year as he failed to win any major trophy with FC Barcelona. However, Messi helped Argentina to reach the final of the World Cup in Brazil and he performed extremely well during the whole tournament. Messi is currently the second favorite, behind Ronaldo, to lift the trophy in January 2015.
Toni Kroos: Toni Kroos was arguably the most valuable midfielder of World Cup in Brazail as he managed to complete more passes than any other player. He was also a key player of Bundesliga winning side of Bayern Munich. He moved to Real Madrid in summer and he is looking well settled at his new club.
Mario Gotze: Many eyebrows were raised when Bayern Munich decided to splash 37 million euros on relatively untested Mario Gotze last year. But Gotze proved his real worth in Brazil by scoring a winning goal against Argentina. Gotze has also become a key component of Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola.
Thomas Muller: Muller was in stunning form in the World Cup in Brzail as he was the top scorer of the tournament. Muller already has 14 World Cup goals to his name and it wonai??i??t be a surprise if he gets nominated himself in the final three of Ballon dai??i??Or award.
Manuel Neuer: Prior to the start of the World Cup, Manuel Neuer was considered as the most promising goal keeper of world football and he proved it why it is so in Brazil. And if he wins the award, he could be the first keeper to win Ballon dai??i??Or since Lev Yashin in 1963.
Bastian Schweinsteiger: Schweinsteiger was the key component of Germanyai??i??s World Cup winning squad as he remains the best holding midfielder in the world. But he remains sidelined due to long term knee injury and date of his return is not known yet.
Philip Lahm: Lahm was the captain of Germanyai??i??s World Cup winning team and his consistent displays proved essential for the success of his team. Guardiola re-invented Lahm last year by playing him in the heart of the midfield and this tactical change made an extremely positive impact on the performance levels of this Captain Cool.
Gareth Bale: Bale moved to Real Madrid for a world record fee of 100 million euros last year. The decision of Real Madrid to splash such huge cash on Bale was much criticized last year but he proved his critics wrong by his stellar performances throughout the season. The highpoint of his season was the goal in a Champions League final against Atletico Madrid.
Sergio Ramos: Ramos has become an undisputed starter for Real Madrid under Ancelotti nowadays. And he gets nominated for Ballon dai??i??Or despite the poor run of Spain in World Cup because of his consistency for Real Madrid and winning goal in Champions League final.
Karim Benzema: Karim Benzema played consistently well for Real Madrid throughout last season and he also scored the only goal of Champions League second leg semi-final against Bayern Munich. He was also the best player for France in World Cup in Brazil.
Diego Costa: Atletico Madrid surprised everybody by winning La Liga ahead of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid last year and 27 goal scorer Costa was the best player of Diego Simeoneai??i??s team.
James Rodriguez: James Rodriguez first came to limelight last year when he moved to Monaco for 40 millions. But his performances for Colombia made him the global star in a fortnight and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez didnai??i??t hesitate to splash whopping 70 million euros for his signature.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Ibrahimovic did not participate in the World as Sweden did not qualify for the same but he was in a tremendous form for Paris Saint Germain as he scored 30 goals for them in Ligue 1.
Thibaut Courtois: Courtois was arguably the best keeper in Europe last season as he made some unbelievable saves for Atletico Madrid. Taking note of his extraordinary talents, Mourinho took him back to Chelsea this year.
Eden Hazard: Hazard is widely considered as the most talented youngster nowadays and the key reason for this is his stellar performances for Chelsea last year.
Angel Di Maria: Di Maria was the best midfielder of Real Madridai??i??s Champions League winning side last year while he also played extremely well for Argentina in the World Cup.
Andres Iniesta: Iniesta won the prize of Best Attacking midfielder in La Liga last season but he failed to help Spain do well in the World Cup in Brazil.
Arjen Robben: Robben was the most important member of Van Gaalai??i??s Netherlands side, which reached the semi finals of the World Cup.
Javier Mascherano: Although he is not playing in the midfield for Barca these days, Mascherano still remains one of the best midfielders in the world and he proved this fact in Brazil.
Paul Pogba: Pogba enjoyed a breakthrough campaign for Juve last year and he also was the regular starter for France in the World Cup.
Neymar: Brazil fans had a forgettable World Cup but Neymar gave them some smiles through his exciting displays. He is looking in a great touch for Barca in their new season too.
Toure Yaya: Yaya Toure is the pillar of Manchester Cityai??i??s midfield and he was their best player in their EPL winning campaign too.
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