Ballon d'Or 2015 nominees announced with Alexis Sanchez among five Premi...

The nominees for the 2015 Ballon d'Or have been revealed.

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.

Both players are unsurprisingly up for this year's award - and it is again likely to be a straight shootout between the pair.

There are just five Premier League nominees among the 23-man shortlist - led by Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez.The Chilean enjoyed a fine debut season in England and has continued in similar vain this campaign. He is joined on the list by PFA Player of the Year Eden Hazard.

Manchester City trio Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Kevin De Bruyne complete the Premier League contingent.

Gareth Bale is the only British player to make the cut with a staggering 16 of the 23 players coming from either Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich.There are a couple of familiar names on the Coach of the Year shortlist too, with Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho both making the cut.

Other names include Carlo Ancelotti, Diego Simeone and of course, Pep Guardiola.