X-raying FIFA’s Ballon d’Or 23-man shortlist

The 23-man contender list for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or is out, including four-time winner Lionel Messi and defending winner Cristiano Ronaldo, but has no place for former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, who was banned for four months in July for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

Find out who else is in the running for world football’s most coveted individual prize.

Gareth Bale (Real Madrid and Wales)

Bale has taken the immense pressure that comes with being the world’s most expensive player in his stride, helping Real Madrid to Champions League glory. The Welsh wizard scored a vital extra time header in the 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid to set Real on their way to their long-awaited Decima triumph. Bale also scored a glorious individual goal to win the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona. He ended the 2013-2014 campaign with 22 goals and 16 assists in all competitions.

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and France)

It was a season of domestic glory for Benzema, who scored vital goals as Real Madrid lifted the Champions League and the Copa del Rey. He scored against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final and set up Angel Di Maria’s opener in the Copa del Rey final. 2014 has so far seen him score 12 club and three international goals.

Diego Costa (Chelsea and Spain)

One of the world’s deadliest strikers, Costa has defied injury problems and the pressure of a £32m transfer fee to transfer his rich vein of scoring from Atletico Madrid to Chelsea. The Spain international has adapted quickly to the styles of the Premier League, scoring nine times in his first nine matches, after helping Atletico to the La Liga title.

Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea and Belgium)

A big year for the Belgium international, who is gradually establishing himself as one of the world’s best goalkeepers. His loan spell at Atletico Madrid ended with the La Liga title and an appearance in the Champions League final, having knocked out his parent club Chelsea along the way. Courtois is now firmly established as their No 1.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal)

Favourite to retain the Ballon d’Or – the Portuguese phenomenon scored 17 goals in the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League for Real Madrid, seven more than second highest scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He was also the highest goal scorer in the 2013-14 La Liga season, netting 31 times. So far this season, Ronaldo has scored a remarkable 22 goals in 15 appearances for club and country and is simply going from strength to strength.

Angel Di Maria (Manchester United and Argentina)

It’s been a fantastic year for Di Maria, who helped Real Madrid win the Champions League, scoring and earning the man of the match award in the final, and then led Argentina to the final of the World Cup. Though that ended in defeat, his ability to create chances persuaded Manchester United to part with £60m for his services over the summer and it’s already proving to be money well spent.

Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich and Germany)

Not only did Gotze help Bayern underline their domestic dominance with a league and cup double, he made it a treble of winners’ medals by helping Germany to World Cup success. Gotze settled the final with Argentina with an extra time volley. Gotze’s all-round excellence makes it easy to forget that he is only 22.

Eden Hazard (Chelsea and Belgium)

Hazard’s brilliant performances for Chelsea led to him being named the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2014 and he was also the club’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. His fine attacking skills are integral to Jose Mourinho’s team.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain and Sweden)

Though Zlatan may have been missing from the World Cup, he still enjoyed domestic success, leading PSG to another French title. One of the best strikers in Europe, he has scored 16 goals so far in this year for the Parisians and his audacity with his forward play is admired the world over.

Andres Iniesta (Barcelona and Spain)

Iniesta has been an ever-present on this shortlist over the past few years but 2014 wasn’t his most successful year. Barcelona missed out on silverware and Spain flopped at the World Cup. Nonetheless, Iniesta continues to dictate every match in which he plays with his clever movement and incisive passing.

Toni Kroos (Real Madrid and Germany)

Kroos was an integral part of Germany’s World Cup triumph, setting up four goals and scoring twice in the semi-final demolition of Brazil. He was the top-ranked player on the Castrol Performance Index, scoring 9.79 out of 10 for his performances. Prior to that, he had helped Bayern to league and cup success and moved to Real Madrid over the summer.

Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich and Germany)

The captain of Germany certainly deserves a place on the list and Lahm has certainly enjoyed an excellent year. He lifted the World Cup trophy in the Maracana and then announced his international retirement after 113 matches for his country.

Javier Mascherano (Barcelona and Argentina)

Mascherano played every single minute of Argentina’s World Cup games as they came to lifting the trophy. He made the most tackles of any player at the tournament (30) and the third-most passes (576 at an accuracy rate of 89 per cent).

Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)

Four-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi took Argentina to the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and won the Golden Ball, which recognised him as the best player in the tournament.

Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich and Germany)

Muller’s five goals were vital in Germany’s World Cup success and earned a place in the tournament all-star XI in addition to his winner’s medal. The 25-year-old netted 26 goals for Bayern Munich during their double-winning 2013-2014 campaign.

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)

Undoubtedly the world’s No 1 goalkeeper at present, Neuer enjoyed another wonderful year with World Cup glory following Bayern’s domestic successes. He deservedly won the Golden Glove award for his performances in the finals in Brazil and his shot stopping and reflexes are great to watch.

Neymar (Barcelona and Brazil)

Neymar’s importance to the Brazil team at the World Cup was underlined by their capitulation in the semi-final with Germany, when he was absent with a fractured vertebra. Until that point he had been their talisman, scoring four goals and looking their most dangerous player. Neymar has also adapted well to life at Barcelona, scoring 12 club goals this season.

Paul Pogba (Juventus and France)

The ex-Manchester United midfielder is starting to realise his potential as one of Europe’s best players and was instrumental in leading Juventus to another Serie A title. He then performed impressively for France at the World Cup, the 21-year-old being named the tournament’s Best Young Player.

Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain)

Ramos has been a model of consistency for Real Madrid over the last few years and chipped in with some massive goals as well. He scored two headers in Real’s 4-0 Champions League semi-final win over Bayern Munich and rescued them with an injury-time goal in the final, also scooping the man of the match award. Unfortunately, his World Cup with Spain wasn’t quite as successful.

Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich and Holland)

Holland surprised and thrilled many with their third-place finish at the World Cup and Robben was a key part of this, scoring goals against Spain and Australia, as well as in the quarter-final shoot-out defeat of Costa Rica. This great performance at the World Cup followed another very successful season with Bayern.

James Rodriguez (Real Madrid and Colombia)

Rodriguez was the revelation of the World Cup, scoring magnificent goals for Colombia and winning the Golden Boot award for top scorer. His volley against Uruguay in the second round was one of the best goals ever seen in the World Cup. It was enough to earn a dream move to Real Madrid from Monaco and Rodriguez looks every inch the Galactico at his new club.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich and Germany)

The midfield general was a major factor as Germany lifted the World Cup, with his exceptional range of passing to the fore. Joachim Low rewarded his displays by handing him the captain’s armband following Lahm’s retirement. This, like many of the other German players on this list, came after another year of success with Bayern Munich.

Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)

Toure was City’s talisman as they won their second Premier League title in three seasons, producing a succession of commanding performances in midfield and contributing 24 goals in all competitions. He captained his country at the World Cup but they failed to advance beyond the group stage.

@AnthonyNlebem

Anthony Nlebem