Barcelona forward Luis Suarez has missed out on the 23-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards, despite being in sensational form for Liverpool last season.
FIFA announced the shortlist earlier today, with Cristiano Ronaldo predictably spearheading it, but Suarez’s absence was rather surprising. However, rumours does suggest that his 4 month suspension from all footballing activities, after being caught biting Chiellini during the World Cup, affected his chances significantly.
Meanwhile, six players from Germany’s World Cup winning squad were included for the awards, in the form of Mario Goetze, Thomas Muller, Philip Lahm, Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Zlatan Ibrahimovic also made the shortlist, despite not featuring in the World Cup last summer.
The winner will be announced in a gala ceremony on January 12, with it set to be held in Zurich. Cristiano Ronaldo is the reigning holder of the award, while Lionel Messi swooped it for four consecutive years prior to that.
2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or shortlist:
Gareth Bale (Wales), Karim Benzema (France), Diego Costa (Spain), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Mario Gotze (Germany), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Toni Kroos (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Javier Mascherano (Argentina), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Muller (Germany), Manuel Neuer (Germany), Neymar (Brazil), Paul Pogba (France), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), James Rodriguez (Colombia), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)
Other posts by Keeshaanan Sundaresan
