Topics: FIFA Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben, UEFA Champions League
The 23-man shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or has created a bit of surprise, although most picks were predictable.

Just the morning after Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick of individual trophies at the 2013/14 LFP Awards, the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or shortlist has been released with CR7’s name on it. The Portuguese superstar overshadows the majority of the contenders with Lionel Messi – trophiless this year – appearing to have slimmer chances than in previous editions.

Indeed, the Barcelona star missed out on the three-man shortlists for both the 2014 UEFA Best Player and 2013/14 Best Attacker awards, which both went to Cristiano Ronaldo. It will take a lot for Messi to snatch the Ballon d'Or this time but not impossible: the Argentine won the World Cup 2014 Golden Ball award and could add a fifth Ballon d'Or prize to his trophy room.

However, aside La Pulga, a couple of other players join Ronaldo as favourites to land the award. They are Germany’s Manuel Neuer and Dutch winger Arjen Robben. Their heroic displays at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil puts them in a formidable position to challenge individually-gifted CR7 whose campaign with Portugal was nothing short of a disaster.

With as many as five Ballon d’Or nominees signing for new clubs during the summer transfer window – namely Angel Di Maria, Diego Costa, James Rodriguez, Thibaut Courtois and Toni Kroos –  the shortlist by league sees La Liga dominate emphatically with 10 players. The Bundesliga follows with six, the English Premier League has five whereas both the Italian Serie A and the Ligue 1 counts one player each in the 23-man shortlist.

Bayern Munich's pride

2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or: Chelsea dominate the EPL's representatives

EPL - Ballon d'Or 2014 nominees 

Full 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or shortlist

Full 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or shortlist

Meanwhile, the FIFA World Coach of the Year shortlist sees UEFA Champions League winner Carlo Ancelotti, World Cup winner Joachim Loew, La Liga champion Diego Simeone and ex-Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal as favourites to take the prestigious prize.

2014 FIFA World Coach of the Year shortlist

2014 FIFA World Coach of the Year shortlist

In a live show on December 1, FIFA and France Football will announce the three-man shortlists. Winners will be crowned in Zurich on January 12, 2015.