ROONEY MAKES SHORTLIST

Wayne Rooney has once again been named on the FIFA Ballon D'Or shortlist, though this time he is the only British representative. In previous years the likes of John Terry, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham have featured in the Golden Ball shortlist, but with injuries taking their toll, and no trophies won, Rooney is England's (and Britain's) only hope.

There are a few Premiership players in the shortlist (Manchester United's Luis Nani, Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Liverpool's Luis Suarez), but the majority of the 20 players listed play their football in the sunnier climes of Spain, with Barcelona having 8 in the list, and Real Madrid 5. Barcelona's tally includes a certain Cesc Fabregas, who earned his nomination on the back of his performances for Arsenal - in spite of the fact that they have famously failed to win a trophy in over 5 years now.

The shortlist will be cut down to just 3 names on December 5th.

Full list of Nominees: Eric Abidal (France), Sergio Aguero (Argentina), Karim Benzema (France), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Dani Alves (Brazil), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Muller (Germany), Nani (Portugal), Neymar (Brazil), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Gerard Pique (Spain), Wayne Rooney (England), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Luis Suarez (Uruguay), David Villa (Spain), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Xavi (Spain).