Three of Germany’s World Cup winners have been nominated for the 2015 Ballon d’Or. Toni Kroos of Real Madrid along with Thomas Müller and last year’s Goalkeeper of the year Manuel Neuer of Bayern München are among the 23 players who have been shortlisted by FIFA.
Also on the list are Bayern’s Arjen Robben, his teammates Robert Lewandowski and Arturo Vidal, as well as Manchester City’s summer signing from VfL Wolfsburg Kevin De Bruyne. Last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo is also among the nominees again for this year. The new winner of the Ballon d’Or will be announced in Zurich on 11th January 2016. The voting will take place between the 26th October and the 30th November and the winner will be voted for by captains and managers of national sides as well as a number of international media representatives chosen by the magazine France Football.
The nominees for World Coach of the Year is led by Luis Enrique, manager of Champions League winners Barcelona. Also on the list is Bayern manager Pep Guardiola.
The nominees
FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015: Sergio Agüero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/VfL Wolfsburg/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden/Paris St. Germain), Andrés Iniesta (Spain/Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern München), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Thomas Müller (Germany/Bayern München), Manuel Neuer (Germany/Bayern München), Neymar (Brazil/Barcelona), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitić (Croatia/Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/Bayern München), James Rodríguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Alexis Sánchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suárez (Uruguay/Barcelona), Yaya Touré (Ivory Coast/Manchester City), Arturo Vidal (Chile/Juventus/Bayern München).
World Coach of the Year 2015: Massimiliano Allegri (Italy/Juventus), Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Real Madrid), Laurent Blanc (France/Paris St. Germain), Unai Emery (Spain/Sevilla), Pep Guardiola (Spain/Bayern München), Luis Enrique (Spain/Barcelona), José Mourinho (Portugal/Chelsea), Jorge Sampaoli (Argentina/Chilean national team), Diego Simeone (Argentina/Atlético Madrid), Arsène Wenger (France/Arsenal).