Wayne Rooney is the only Englishman to have been included on the 23-man shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or.
The 26-year-old, who is expected to start Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Otelul Galati, a game Manchester United are 9/2 with bookmaker to win 3-0, is looking to become the first English player to be awarded world football’s most coveted individual honour since Michael Owen in 2001.
Rooney, 11/4 to open the scoring against the Romanian outfit at Old Trafford, faces competition from the likes of Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero for the crown.
The list is dominated by the two La Liga giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid, who have eight and five candidates respectively.
