2015 Ballon d'Or Award 23-man shortlist by FIFA on Tuesday Oct 20,2015

Real Madrid's blockbuster 'BBC' forward line and Barcelona's devastating 'MSN' trio are set to go head-to-head for the 2015 Ballon d'Or award after all six were named on the 23-man shortlist by FIFA on Tuesday Oct 20,2015

FC Barcelona, who won La Liga, the Champions League and domestic cup last year, have the most players on the shortlist with Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta, Argentine defender Javier Mascherano and Croatian Ivan Rakitic joining their front three on the award.

Real Madrid have five with Colombian James Rodriguez and German World Cup-winner Toni Kroos also named.

German champions Bayern Munich also have five representatives with Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Mueller, Arjen Robben, Arturo Vidal and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, winner of the last four African Player of the Year awards, is the only non European or South American to make the list


Shortlist

Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City)
Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid)
Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City)
Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain)
Andres Iniesta (Spain/Barcelona)
Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich)
Javier Mascherano (Argentina/Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona)
Thomas Mueller (Germany/Bayern Munich)
Manuel Neuer (Germany/Bayern Munich)
Neymar (Brazil/Barcelona)
Paul Pogba (France/Juventus)
Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/Barcelona)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands/Bayern Munich)
James Rodríguez (Colombia/Real Madrid)
Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal)
Luis Suarez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona)
Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast/Manchester City)
Arturo Vidal (Chile/Bayern Munich).