World record signing Gareth Bale has made the 23-man shortlist for the FFIFA men's world footballer of the year award, the Ballon d'Or. Bale has bagged 26 goals for Tottenham last season before sealing an £85 million move to Real Madrid in the summer transfer window. Five Premier League players have also made the nominations list: Eden Hazard, Mesut Ozil, Luis Suarez, Yaya Toure and Robin van Persie.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi will be looking to retain the award he been given for four consecutive years. Barcelona have three other nominees in Andres Iniesta, Neymar and Xavi, while Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo is also among the contenders.
Bayern Munich, who defeated Barcelona en route to Champions League triumph last season have six players up for the award. Here is the full 23-man 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).
The winners will be announced on 13 January 2014 in Zurich. You can bet on who will win this prestigious award at Bet365, here are the odds for the top five contenders:
Lionel Messi - 11/8
Franck Ribery - 2/1
Cristiano Ronaldo - 6/1
Robert Lewandowski - 25/1
Arjen Robben - 25/1
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