• European champions Bayern Munich field six candidates
• Ferguson and Mourinho on coach of year shortlist
Gareth Bale has joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among the leading contenders for Fifa's Ballon d'Or.
Bale, 24, became the world's most expensive player when he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham for €100m (£85m) in September after scoring 26 goals for Spurs last season.
Five Premier League players – the Manchester United striker Robin van Persie, Manchester City's Yaya Touré, Liverpool's frontman Luis Suárez, Chelsea's winger Eden Hazard and Arsenal's midfielder Mesut Özil – are also on the shortlist.
The 23-man shortlist for the prestigious world player of the year award was announced early on Tuesday morning, with the winner to be unveiled on January 13 in Zurich.
The Barcelona and Argentina forward Messi has won the award for the last four years, with Bale's Madrid team-mate Ronaldo consistently his nearest challenger.
Franck Ribery, who was named Uefa's best player in Europe for the 2012-13 season after helping Bayern Munich win the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup, is another challenger on the shortlist.
Ribery is joined by five of his Champions League-winning club-mates Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger while Barcelona also have Xavi, Andres Iniesta and their £50m summer signing Neymar among the candidates.
The Paris St-Germain trio Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva have made the shortlist while fellow Ligue 1 big-spenders Monaco have a contender of their own in Radamel Falcao, acquired from Atletico Madrid in the close season.
The former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson headlines a 10-man coach of the year shortlist along with José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and the Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.
Ballon d'Or shortlist:
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/Wales), Edinson Cavani (Paris St-Germain/Uruguay), Radamel Falcao (Monaco/Colombia), Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St-Germain/Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona/Spain), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich/Germany), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund/Poland), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina), Thomas Múller (Bayern Munich/Germany), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany), Neymar (Barcelona/Brazil), Mesut Özil (Arsenal/Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus/Italy), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/France), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich/Netherlands), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich/Germany), Luis Suárez (Liverpool/Uruguay), Thiago Silva (Paris St Germain/Brazil), Yaya Touré (Manchester City/Ivory Coast), Robin van Persie (Manchester United/Netherlands), Xavi (Barcelona/Spain).
Coach of the year shortlist:
Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid/ex-Paris St-Germain), Rafael Benítez (Napoli/ex-Chelsea), Antonio Conte (Juventus), Vicente Del Bosque (Spain), Sir Alex Ferguson (ex-Manchester United), Jupp Heynckes (ex-Bayern Munich), Jürgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund), José Mourinho (Chelsea/ex-Real Madrid), Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil), Arsène Wenger (Arsenal).
via Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com http://feeds.theguardian.com/c/34708/f/663845/s/330a7306/sc/12/l/0L0Stheguardian0N0Cfootball0C20A130Coct0C290Cgareth0Ebale0Eballon0Edor0Eaward0Emessi0Eronaldo0Eribery/story01.htm
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