Man United striker Wayne Rooney has been shortlisted for this year’s Ballon d’Or (in other words the best player in the Europe. Rooney’s name is alongside two other Premier League stars and four Barcelona players. Former Man United star and current holder Cristiano Ronaldo is also in the list of 10.

Here are the 10 names up for the award-

Wayne Rooney – Man United

Steven Gerrard - Liverpool

Didier Drogba - Chelsea

Lionel Messi - Barcelona

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Barcelona (was Inter Milan last season)

Xavi - Barcelona

Andres Iniesta – Barcelona

Samuel Eto’o – Inter Milan (was Barcelona last season)

Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid (was Man United last season)

Kaka – Real Madrid (was AC Milan last season)

The list has been cut from 30 down to 10. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres was 11th, Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas was 12th, Man United winger Ryan Giggs 14th. United defender Nemanja Vidic was 16th, Arsenal striker Andrey Arshavin and Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard were joint 21st. Finally Chelsea defender John Terry was 26th.

The favourite to win the award is Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.