This evening, the final three-man shortlist for the 2014 Ballon D'Or will be announced, and these are the three players that should make the cut.
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Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid's Portuguese talisman had a great season in 2013/14, winning both the Copa Del Rey and the UEFA Champions League, where he set a new record of 17 goals in a single campaign. He picked up three awards at the LFP awards ceremony for La Liga, including the awards for Best Forward, Best Player and Best Goal. He was named UEFA Player of the Season in September and, over the course of 2014, he has scored 55 goals and 19 assists in 55 appearances for club and country. His individual success has been complimented by collective success with Real Madrid and he will undoubtedly be the front-runner for the award, which would be a third Ballon D'Or win in his career.
Manuel Neuer
Bayern Munich's goalkeeper has been subjected to incredible praise in 2014 after some excellent performances for his club and his country, Germany. He won the World Cup in Brazil, where he was awarded with the Golden Glove and he also won a German double with Bayern Munich. Over the course of 2014, Neuer has kept 20 clean sheets in 54 appearances. It may seem far-fetched for a goalkeeper to win the prize, considering that the only man to do so was legendary Soviet Union stopper, Lev Yashin in 1963. However, like Yashin, Neuer has revolutionised what it means to be a goalkeeper and is like a brick wall behind his sturdy back four, proving practically unbeatable at times. His incredible success with his teams this season will be a major factor in his bid for the prestigious title in January.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi may have failed to win any trophies with his teams this year, in a rare occurrence for the Argentine, but since overcoming the injury problems that plagued him in 2013, Messi has been quite brilliant for club and country, scoring 52 times and assisting on a further 21 occasions in 62 appearances. He also won the World Cup Golden Ball en route to taking Argentina to this year's final in Brazil. He may not be the favourite to claim his fifth Ballon D'Or, but after breaking two all-time goal scoring records in the space of four days, he should definitely make the top three of this year's award.
The three-man shortlist for the Ballon D'Or 2014 will be announced at 19:00 tonight.
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Who do you think should win the 2014 FIFA Ballon D'Or? Have your say in the comments section below.
