The 23-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or 2015 has been revealed - here's who made the cut

The nominees for the 2015 Ballon d'Or are out!!!

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has won the prestigious prize for the last two years, given to the player at the top of the world game.

He held off competition from Lionel Messi to collect the award for a third time in 2014 - although his Barcelona rival won it four times on the trot between 2009 and 2012.

The 23 man list includes 11 players from La Liga, five in the Premier League, five in the Bundesliga and just one nomination from both Ligue 1 and Serie A.

Bayern Munich have five of their players on the shortlist for the prize while Real Madrid are the next closest with four players.

The award, which is decided by the captains and head coaches of national teams as well as media representatives, will be presented to the player considered to be the best performer in the calendar year. The ceremony will take place on January 11, 2016, in Zurich.

The 23-man shortlist in full:

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City/Argentina)

Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/Wales)

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/France)

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium)

Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain/Sweden)

Andres Iniesta (Barcelona/Spain)

Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany)

Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland)

Javier Mascherano (Barcelona/Argentina)

Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)

Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich/Germany)

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany)

Neymar (Barcelona/Brazil)

Paul Pogba (Juventus/France)

Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona/Croatia)

Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich/Netherlands)

James Rodriguez (Real Madrid/Colombia)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal/Chile)

Luis Suarez (Barcelona/Uruguay)

Yaya Toure (Manchester City/Ivory Coast)

Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich/Chile)

Who do you think will win this?