The nominations for the Ballon d'Or, also known as World Footballer of the Year, have been announced, with eight Barcelona players making the short list of 23. Manchester United have two players included, while Manchester City and Liverpool both have one.
1) Lionel Messi - Barcelona - 27 goals and 14 assists in 29 league games in 2011, plus eight goals and four assists in 10 Champions League matches.
2) Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid - Has scored 33 league goals in 28 games in 2011, more than anyone in Europe's top five leagues.
3) Luis Suarez - Liverpool - Has attempted a shot every 22 minutes on average in the Premier League in 2011, the second-fastest rate in the competition.
4) Wesley Sneijder - Internazionale - Has created an average of 2.4 goalscoring chances per game for Inter Milan in Serie A in 2011.
5) Wayne Rooney - Manchester United - Has scored or assisted 39% of Manchester United's 84 goals in the Premier League & Champions League combined in 2011.
6) Xavi Hernandez - Barcelona - Averaged a passing accuracy of 94.4% in his 26 league appearances in 2011, higher than any other player in the top five European leagues.
7) Neymar - Santos - Has managed to score a goal every 160 minutes on average for club and country in 2011 so far.
8) Cesc Fabregas - Barcelona - Has created an average of 2.8 goalscoring chances per league game in 2011.
9) Gerard Pique - Barcelona - Has completed 90% of his passes in La Liga in 2011, significantly higher than the league average of 77% for defenders.
10) Samuel Eto'o - Anzhi Makhachkala - Twelve goals and seven assists in 22 games for Inter before departing for Anzhi Makhachkala.
11) Sergio Aguero - Manchester City - Aguero has scored 22 league goals in 28 games this year, only five players in Europe's top five leagues have scored more.
12) Andres Iniesta - Barcelona -89% pass completion rate in 2011, only five midfielders in top five leagues can boast a higher one.
13) Iker Casillas - Real Madrid - 11 clean sheets and 78 saves in 29 league games in 2011.
14) Luis Nani - Manchester United - Only David Silva (10) has assisted more Premier League goals from open play than Nani in 2011 (9).
15) Xavi Alonso - Real Madrid -Alonso has attempted a pass every 88 seconds in the Champions League in 2011 for Real Madrid.
16) Eric Abidal - Barcelona - Has the fourth best pass completion in Europe's top five leagues in 2011, 92%.
17) Thomas Muller - Bayern Munich- Involved (scored or assisted) in 19 goals in just 28 league games in 2011.
18) Dani Alves - Barcelona- 13 assists from Alves in 2011, only five players in Europe's top five leagues have more in 2011.
19) Bastian Schweinsteiger - Bayern Munich - The German international has touched the ball on 2412 occasions in the Bundesliga in 2011; more than any other player.
20) Mesut Ozil - Real Madrid - Has more assists than any other player in Europe's top five leagues in 2011 (15)
21) David Villa - Barcelona - Has scored or assisted a goal for Barcelona every 115 minutes in the Champions League in 2011 (five goals, two assists).
22) Karim Benzema - Real Madrid - Has a goals to shots conversion of 28% in 2011, superior to the likes of Messi and Ronaldo.
23) Diego Forlan - Internazionale - Created 25 chances in 808 minutes of play, one every 32 minutes on average.
