The Ballon d'Or: Celebrating the best footballers in the world
Good Morning and welcome to our live coverage of the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2014 in Zurich. The great and the good of the game will gather this evening to see who out of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer will be crowned the world's best player.
All three have a strong case. Ronaldo, who won the accolade this time last year, helped Real Madrid to their long-awaited 10th European Cup triumph and went on a goal-scoring spree during the club's extraordinary 22-match winning run.
Messi helped Argentina to the World Cup final in the backyard of their oldest rivals, Brazil, producing some mesmerising performances and scoring vital goals. For Barcelona, he established new goalscoring records in La Liga and the Champions League.
Goalkeeper Neuer played an integral role as Germany won the World Cup for the fourth time in the summer, also establishing himself as the undisputed No 1 of No 1s as he helped Bayern Munich maintain their dominance of German football.
We will also have awards for World Coach of the Year, the Puskas Award for Goal of the Year, the FIFA FIFPro World XI and much, much more.
 |
| Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone poses for a portrait ahead of the Ballon d'Or |
 |
| Carlo Ancelotti led Real Madrid to their long-awaited 10th European Cup triumph |
 |
| Joachim Low shows off his World Cup winners' medal after Germany's triumph |
 |
| Andres iniesta gives the thumbs up as he flies in to Zurich for the Ballon d'Or ceremony |
.jpg)
