FIFA has shortlisted five current Premier League players Luis Suarez, Robin van Persie, Yaya Toure, Eden Hazard and Mesut Ozil for the men’s world footballer of the year award.
That honor means that Wayne Rooney, who was shortlisted for the award in four of the last five years, did not make the list. The Manchester United striker struggled last year after frequently being played out of position and scoring only 16 goals.
Former Premier League star and current La Liga player, Gareth Bale, has also been named to the list after scoring 26 goals for Tottenham last season. Bale is joined on the list by Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 56 goals in all competitions last season with Real Madrid. Los Blanco’s rivals, Barcelona, put four players on the list including Lionel Messi, who has won the Ballon d’Or four years on the trot, Andres Iniesta, Neymar and Xavi.
Coming off their treble winning season in Germany, Bayern Munich have put six players on the list in Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski, who has been widely tipped with a move to Munich, is the other Bundesliga candidate making the cut.
From France’s Ligue 1, FIFA has named Edinson Cavani, Radamel Falcao, Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibramhimovich. The Swedish international has been on fire of late, having scored 9 goals in his last five matches for Paris Saint Germain, prompting Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to claim that “right now, [Ibrahimovich is] better than Messi and Ronaldo.”
Rounding out the list of 23 is the crafty Italian veteran Andrea Pirlo, who at the age of 34 is the engine that runs Juventus and the only player to be nominated from Serie A.
Winners of four of the five big leagues Europe, Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte and Jupp Heynckes have all made the 10-man list for coach of the year.
FIFA world men’s player of the year shortlist: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/Wales), Edinson Cavani (Paris St-Germain/Uruguay), Radamel Falcao (Monaco/Colombia), Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St-Germain/Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona/Spain), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich/Germany), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund/Poland), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich/Germany), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany), Neymar (Barcelona/Brazil), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal/Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus/Italy), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/France), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich/Netherlands), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich/Germany), Luis Suarez (Liverpool/Uruguay), Thiago Silva (Paris St-Germain/Brazil), Yaya Toure (Manchester City/Ivory Coast), Robin Van Persie (Manchester United/Netherlands), Xavi (Barcelona/Spain).
FIFA coach of the year shortlist: Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid CF), Rafael Benítez (Napoli), Antonio Conte (Juventus), Vicente Del Bosque (Spain), Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United’s former coach), Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich’s former coach), Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund), Jose Mourinho (Chelsea), Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal).