FIFA releases Ballon d’or Candidates, Luis Suarez left out

Four Barcelona players (MESSI, NEYMAR, MASCHERANO, INIESTA) have been shortlisted for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’or award. The 23 man shortlist was released on Tuesday 28th October, 2014 with the major talking point being the non-inclusion of Uruguayan Striker, Luis Suarez.
The Barcelona striker won the European Golden Shoe with an astonishing 31 goal haul, but was left out of the 23 man shortlist with the likes of Paul Pogba, Mario Gotze and Yaya Toure included.
FIFA BALLON D’OR SHORTLIST
Gareth Bale
Karim Benzema
Diego Costa
Thibaut Courtois
Cristiano Ronaldo
Angel di María
Mario Götze
Eden Hazard
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Andrés Iniesta
Toni Kroos
Philipp Lahm
Javier Mascherano
Lionel Messi
Thomas Müller
Manuel Neuer
Neymar
Paul Pogba
Sergio Ramos
Arjen Robben
James Rodríguez
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Yaya Touré

FIFA COACH OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST
Carlo Ancelotti
Antonio Conte
Pep Guardiola
Jürgen Klinsmann
Joachim Löw
José Mourinho
Manuel Pellegrini
Alejandro Sabella
Diego Simeone
Louis van Gaal
The final 3 nominees in each category will be announced on 1 December, 2014 while the winner will emerge on 12 January, 2015.