Ballon d’Or 2014 Candidates Released: Will It Be Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo Again?

By John Santisteban

Oct 28, 2014 10:05 PM EDT

FIFA and France Football magazine released the short list of candidates for the 2014 Ballon d'Or award, an honor given to the best football player in the world.

As expected FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo leads the list of 23 candidates, who are all playing club football in European leagues.

Messi and Ronaldo are considered as favorites to win the award again. Messi took the prestigious honor from 2009-2012, while Ronaldo won it in 2008 and 2013.

The candidates for the award are composed of 17 players for Europe, five from South America and one from Africa. Among the Europeans, six came from Germany, which is not surprising, considering the fact that they won the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil earlier this year.

All candidates came from just eight different European clubs with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich represented by six players each, while FC Barcelona have four candidates.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti recently said that Ronaldo will be the runaway winner this year, but UEFA president Michel Platini recently said that the winners should come from Germany after winning the biggest tournament this year.

"I don't vote for the Ballon d'Or but, in principle, [in a World Cup year] it's a player who has produced big performances in the tournament who wins it," Platini said via Goal. "So, it should be a German this year."

Luis Suarez was in the running for the award earlier this year after winning the European Golden Ball award and being named as the Barclays Premier League Player of the Year, but the FC Barcelona striker was not included in the list after biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.

"The criteria used for the selection of the longlist of Ballon d'Or contenders by France Football and FIFA are very clear," France Football magazine Philippe Auclair said in a CNN interview. "A player who has disgraced himself on the pitch as Suarez has, cannot and will not be included, regardless of his achievements throughout the calendar year."

Below is the list of candidates for the 2014 Ballon d'Or award, which will be trimmed to three in December before the awarding ceremony on January 12 in Zurich.

Gareth Bale, Wales, Real Madrid

Karim Benzema, France, Real Madrid

Diego Costa, Spain, Chelsea

Thibaut Courtois, Belgium, Chelsea

Angel Di Maria, Argentina, Manchester United

Mario Gotze, Germany, Bayern Munich

Eden Hazard, Belgium, Chelsea

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden, Paris Saint-Germain

Andres Iniesta, Spain, Barcelona

Toni Kroos, Germany, Real Madrid

Philipp Lahm, Germany, Bayern Munich

Javier Mascherano, Argentina, Barcelona