Spanish football has reason to celebrate

FC Barcelona, who fought until the final matchday for the Liga BBVA title, have four nominees: Lionel Messi, Neymar, Andrés Iniesta and Javier Mascherano. Goals from Messi and Neymar in the Liga BBVA and FIFA World Cup, the magic and technique of Iniesta in the midfield, and the solidity of Mascherano in the Azulgrana defence were sufficient grounds to include them in this illustrious list of 23. Finally, the exciting and well deserved conquest of the Liga by Atlético Madrid has not gone unnoticed, and two of their cornerstones of last season, Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois, also feature among the 23 footballers selected.

In total, 12 of the 23 players chosen have proven themselves on the fields of the LFP, demonstrating the superb standard of football on show in the Liga BBVA, the strongest league on the planet. On 1 December, FIFA and France Football will announce the three footballers who will vie for the ultimate prize, which will be revealed on 12 January 2015 in Zurich.

The list of 23 nominees, in alphabetical order, is:
Gareth Bale (Wales), Karim Benzema (France), Diego Costa (Spain), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Ángel Di Maria (Argentina), Mario Götze (Germany), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Toni Kroos (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Javier Mascherano (Argentina), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Müller (Germany), Manuel Neuer (Germany), Neymar (Brazil ), Paul Pogba (France), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Arjen Robben (Holland), James Rodríguez (Colombia), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) and Yaya Touré (Ivory Coast).

The Italian newspaper Tuttosport has also announced the list of players who will do battle for the Golden Boy 2014, a prize awarded to the best footballers under the age of 21. The nominees include Barcelona players Munir El Haddadi and Sandro Ramírez, Sevilla’s Gerard Deulofeu, the Athletic Club centre back Aymeric Laporte and Atlético midfielder Saúl Ñíguez. Óliver Torres, on loan from Atlético to FC Porto, is also on the list.