Chat212 - Football REVEALED...
Five Premier League stars and Gareth Bale, who moved from Spurs to Real Madrid in the summer, are among the contenders for FIFA's Ballon d'Or award.
Gareth Bale joins Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among the leading contenders for FIFA's Ballon d'Or award.
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 January 13 in Zurich.
Bale, 24, became the world's most expensive player when he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham for £86million in September after scoring 26 goals last season.
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.
Franck Ribery, 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 prominent name on the shortlist.
Ribery is joined by club-mates Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger while Barcelona also have Xavi, Andres Iniesta and summer signing Neymar among the candidates.
Paris Saint-Germain trio Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva have made the shortlist while fellow Ligue 1 big-spenders Monaco have a contender of their own in Radamel Falcao, acquired from Atletico Madrid in the close season.
- The 23-man shortlist to be crowned the world's No 1... with more players from Bayern Munich than the Premier League
- Van Persie, Yaya Toure, Suarez, Hazard, Bale and Ozil rival Messi and Ronaldo for world's best player award
- (but can anyone actually beat Messi to the Ballon d'Or award?)
Five Premier League stars and Gareth Bale, who moved from Spurs to Real Madrid in the summer, are among the contenders for FIFA's Ballon d'Or award.
Gareth Bale joins Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among the leading contenders for FIFA's Ballon d'Or award.
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 January 13 in Zurich.
Bale, 24, became the world's most expensive player when he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham for £86million in September after scoring 26 goals last season.
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.
Franck Ribery, 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 prominent name on the shortlist.
Ribery is joined by club-mates Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger while Barcelona also have Xavi, Andres Iniesta and summer signing Neymar among the candidates.
Paris Saint-Germain trio Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva have made the shortlist while fellow Ligue 1 big-spenders Monaco have a contender of their own in Radamel Falcao, acquired from Atletico Madrid in the close season.
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