Real Madrid dominate with a total of seven players. Goalkeeper Iker Casillas, winger Cristiano Ronaldo defender Sergio Ramos and midfielder Mesut Özil are four of those names favourite to make it in the three-man shortlist next month.
Meanwhile, current titleholder Lionel Messi leads polls ahead of nominated Barcelona team mates Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. However, any of these three Spanish midfielders could make the cut for the prestigious award following their UEFA Euro 2012 triumph earlier in July.
Other star players like Sergio Aguero, Petr Cech, Vincent Kompany, Radamel Falcao, Didier Drogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were included in the 32-man list based on their great club football season. Mario Balotelli, who ignited UEFA Euro 2012 with a handful of goals for Italy, is also in contention for the prize as is his Italian national team colleagues Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo.
Jakub Blaszczykowski and Shinji Kagawa are part of UEFA’s list as a reward for their success with German club Borussia Dortmund last season. The surprise inclusion is Leslie Davies from Bangor City.
The full 32-man shortlist goes as follows:
Sergio Aguero; Xabi Alonso; Mario Balotelli; Jakub Blaszczykowski; Gianluigi Buffon; Iker Casillas; Petr Cech; Fabio Coentrao; Leslie Davies; Didier Drogba; Cesc Fabregas; Radamel Falcao; Joe Hart; Zlatan Ibrahimovic; Andres Iniesta; Shinji Kagawa; Vincent Kompany; Frank Lampard; Lionel Messi; Luka Modric; Mesut Ozil; Pepe; Andrea Pirlo; Sergio Ramos; Raul; Cristiano Ronaldo; Wayne Rooney; David Silva; Fernando Torres; Yaya Toure; Robin van Persie; Xavi
