Would you believe that Messi and Ronaldo aren't on it? Then you'd be extremely gullible... 

Individual awards always create a stir when the shortlists are announced, with debate raging over who should be nominated, who shouldn't, and whether or not there should even be an award list like this in a team game. 

We'll leave all that aside for a later date and instead just run through the list of 23 players that have been announced by FIFA as being in the running for the Ballon d'Or this year.

Apart from the usual suspects of Messi and Ronaldo, the German national team features high on the list with six of their players making the cut. When it comes to clubs, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid rule the roost, with six players each. Although Luis Suarez scored plenty of goals and was in great form last season, his ill-discipline and penchant for biting seem to have cost him a nomination this year.

The list will eventually be shortened down to three ion December before the winner is announced in Zurich in January. We wonder if we could name two of the three now, maybe...

FIFA also released the list of coaches that will be up for the Coach of the Year award, and it features Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, and the two coaches from the World Cup final, Alejandro Sabella of Argentina and Joachim Low of Germany.


Let the debates over the watercooler begin...