The 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or nominees

The club from the south of Germany has got plenty of representatives in this year's FIFA Ballon d'Or shortlist. World Cup winning goalscorer Mario Götze is joined on the 23-man list by Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos. Dutchman Arjen Robben was also nominated.

Toni Kroos has now moved to Real Madrid of course and together with current Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, Kroos is joined by Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos as one of six Madrid players hoping to claim this year's prize. One thing the Real players have in their favor: they won the Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo is in the form of his life, when he's playing for Real Madrid at least. He scores and sets up goals for fun and wins titles as well. But, with the Portuguese national team things haven't gone so well. Many accuse of him of playing too selfishly. But still, this summer, he was voted European player of the year. Can he be the world footballer of the year again this year?

Lionel Messi was voted the player of the tournament at the World Cup in Brazil, but that wasn't the title he wanted this summer. This year hasn't really been a great one for the Barcelona attacker, but the question is can his club form lead him to his fifth Ballon d'Or prize?

Andres Iniesta, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano: Barcelona may have four shortlisted players for the Ballon d'Or this year, but none of them are really favorites to win it. Barca are going through a re-buiilding phase at the moment and aren't dominating domestically or internationally.

Diego Costa and Belgians Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois will represent Chelsea in this year's Ballon d'Or, although they are all foreign players. Despite their impressive form both this season and last, these guys all have no real chance of winning the prize.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic says himself, that he is one of the best footballers out there. And he's not completely wrong. He does score amazing goals, and is a real physical presence on the field. But, he plays for the wrong teams. Neither with Sweden, nor with Paris St. Germain will lead him to the titles he needs to win Ballon d'Or.

Who knows how the World Cup final would have ended if Angel Di Maria hadn't been injured. The former Real man showed just how good he was on the wings in the re-match between Germany and Argentina after the World Cup, taking the German team apart, almost by himself. These days he plays his club football for Manchester United, but he too is an unlikely winner.

Yaya Touré struggled with his Ivory Coast team at the World Cup, despite plenty of hype before the tournament. The Ivorian was able to lift some silverware this year though, winning the English Premier League with Manchester City. It still won't be enough for him to become world footballer of the year though.

Paul Pogba has already won one prize this year. The 21-year-old was named best young player at the World Cup in Brazil. Surprisingly, Pogba is the only representative from Italy's Serie A league, which was once considered one of Europe's best. The Frenchman plays there for Juventus and has the potential to be a future winner.