A couple of weeks after the 53-man preliminary long-list was leaked, FIFA have found the time to whittle down their Ballon d’Or short-list to just 23 .

Five Premier League players have made the grade with Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Yaya Toure, Eden Hazard and Alexis Sanchez all in the mix, while Gareth Bale constitutes the only British entrant this time round.

You may not be surprised to learn that Lionel Messi and incumbent winner Cristiano Ronaldo have also made the grade.

The list will be whittled down again to just three finalists   in December, with the award gala scheduled to take place in Zurich in January 2016.

FIFA Ballon d’Or shortlist in full

 Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City),

Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid),

Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid),

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid),

Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/VfL Wolfsburg/Manchester City),

Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea),

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain),

Andres Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona),

Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid),

Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich),

Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC Barcelona),

Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona),

Thomas Muller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich),

Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich),

Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona),

Paul Pogba (France/Juventus),

Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/FC Barcelona),

Arjen Robben (Netherlands/FC Bayern Munich),

James Rodriguez (Colombia/Real Madrid),

Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal),

Luis Suarez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona),

Yaya Toure (Côte d’Ivoire/Manchester City),

Arturo Vidal (Chile/Juventus/FC Bayern Munich).