The 23-man shortlist for the prestigious world player of the year award was announced early on Tuesday morning, with the winner to be unveiled on 13 January in Zurich.The Barcelona and Argentina forward Messi has won the award for the last four years, with Bale's Madrid team-mate Ronaldo consistently his nearest challenger.Gareth Bale has joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among the leading contenders for Fifa's Ballon d'Or.Bale, 24, became the world's most expensive player when he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham for €100m (£85m) in September after scoring 26 goals for Spurs last season.
Franck Ribéry, who was named Uefa's best player in Europe for the 2012-13 season after helping Bayern Munich win the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup, is another challenger on the shortlist.See list Below:
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), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona/Spain), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich/Germany), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund/Poland), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich/Germany), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany), Neymar (Barcelona/Brazil), Mesut Özil (Arsenal/Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus/Italy), Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich/France), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich/Holland), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich/Germany), Luis Suárez (Liverpool/Uruguay), Thiago Silva (Paris St-Germain/Brazil), Yaya Touré (Manchester City/Ivory Coast), Robin van Persie (Manchester United/Holland), Xavi (Barcelona/Spain).
The former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson headlines a 10-man coach of the year shortlist along with José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and the Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.Full list below:
Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid/ex-Paris St-Germain), Rafael Benítez (Napoli/ex-Chelsea), Antonio Conte (Juventus), Vicente del Bosque (Spain), Sir Alex Ferguson (ex-Manchester United), Jupp Heynckes (ex-Bayern Munich), Jürgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund), José Mourinho (Chelsea/ex-Real Madrid), Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil), Arsène Wenger (Arsenal).
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