Ballon d'Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo and four-time winner Lionel Messi are among 23 players on FIFA's list of contenders for this year's award honouring the world's top player.
The list was compiled by the FIFA Football Committee with the help of French magazine France Football. It will be trimmed to a shortlist of three on Dec. 1, with the winner announced at a ceremony in Zurich on Jan 12, 2015.
Messi won the award four straight years from 2009-2012, while Ronaldo won it in 2008 and 2013. The award was presented solely by France Football until 2009, and the publication joined with FIFA's World Player of the Year Award for the 2010 edition.
The list features 17 players from Europe, five from South America and one from Africa (Yaya Toure). World champions Germany are the most represented with six entries.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TOP SCORERS
1. Raúl - 71 (142 games) - Real Madrid, Schalke 04
2. Cristiano Ronaldo - 70 (106) - Man Utd, Real Madrid
3. Lionel Messi - 69 (89) - Barcelona
4. Ruud van Nistelrooy - 56 (73) - PSV, Man Utd, Real Madrid
5. Thierry Henry - 50 (112) - Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona
All of the candidates play their club football in Europe, for only eight different clubs, with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich tied for the most with six each, followed by Barcelona with four.
Two goalkeepers were named to the shortlist: Belgium's Thibaut Courtois and Germany's Manuel Neuer.
There was no place on the list for Barcelona striker Luis Suarez, who was named the Premier League's Player of the Year last season while at Liverpool and shared the Golden Ball award as Europe's top goal scorer last term with Ronaldo, following his four-month ban for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during a match at the World Cup.
The list of 23 contenders:
- Gareth Bale, Wales, Real Madrid
- Karim Benzema, France, Real Madrid
- Diego Costa, Spain, Chelsea
- Thibaut Courtois, Belgium, Chelsea
- Angel Di Maria, Argentina, Manchester United
- Mario Gotze, Germany, Bayern Munich
- Eden Hazard, Belgium, Chelsea
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden, Paris Saint-Germain
- Andres Iniesta, Spain, Barcelona
- Toni Kroos, Germany, Real Madrid
- Philipp Lahm, Germany, Bayern Munich
- Javier Mascherano, Argentina, Barcelona
- Lionel Messi, Argentina, Barcelona
- Thomas Muller, Germany, Bayern Munich
- Manuel Neuer, Germany, Bayern Munich
- Neymar, Brazil, Barcelona
- Paul Pogba, France, Juventus
- Sergio Ramos, Spain, Real Madrid
- Arjen Robben, Netherlands, Bayern Munich
- James Rodriguez, Colombia, Real Madrid
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, Real Madrid
- Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany, Bayern Munich
- Yaya Toure, Ivory Coast, Manchester City
