Hazard, Sanchez, City trio on Ballon list
Alexis Sanchez, Eden Hazard, Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Kevin de Bruyne are on the Ballon d’Or shortlist.
Gareth Bale is the only British player on a 23-man shortlist that features six Barcelona players; Lionel Messi is expected to take the award after winning the Champions League and La Liga double.
Messi is joined by teammates Luis Suarez, Neymar, Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano, while Real Madrid and Bayern Munich boast five players each.
The list was composed by the Fifa Football Committee and a group of experts from France Football. The winner will be announced in Zurich on 11 January.
Shortlist: Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain), Andres Iniesta (Spain/Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Thomas Müller (Germany/Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Germany/Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/Barcelona), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/Bayern Munich), James Rodríguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), Alexis Sánchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suárez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast/Manchester City), Arturo Vidal (Chile/Bayern Munich).
