FIFA brought out the shortlist for Ballon d'Or

Gareth Bale made it into the shortlist of Ballon d’Or 2013 contenders along with favorites Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery. Five players from the Premier League, namely Eden Hazard, Robin van Persie, Yaya Toure, Mesut Ozil and Luis Suarez have also been nominated. Bayern Munich, who won all possible tournaments last season, have the largest representation with Philipp Lahm, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the pot.

The list is set to be cut to three contenders and the final ceremony will take place on 13 January 2014 in Zurich.

A complete shortlist:
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Edinson Cavani (Paris St-Germain), Radamel Falcao (Monaco), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St-Germain), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Barcelona), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Luis Suarez (Liverpool), Thiago Silva (Paris St-Germain), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Robin Van Persie (Manchester United), Xavi (Barcelona).

Here is a shortlist of 10 best managers:
Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid CF), Rafael Benítez (Napoli), Antonio Conte (Juventus), Vicente Del Bosque (Spain), Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United’s former coach), Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich’s former coach), Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund), Jose Mourinho (Chelsea), Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal).

Photo: L’Equipe