Afterthe recent announcement concerning this years Ballon dOr. Surely its pretty obvious which man is in main contention to be crowned world player of the year. A certain extraordinary Portuguese superstar is leading the chase by quite a distance. Not many would disagree that this Travin Howard Jersey candidate for the 2014 crown is well deserved.A dominant campaign by Real Madrid winning last seasons Champions League there 10th La Decima, they have a strong showing of 5 players, which include Angel Di Maria of Manchester United now. On the other hand, Atletico Madrid after a stunning season winning their first La Liga since 1996 have 2 candidates, however bothDiego Costa and Thibaut Courtois are currently playing their trade at Stamford bridge these days. Catalan giants Barcelona after a relatively poor season will still make a case that their own superstar Lionel Me si deserves astonishingly his 5th Ballon dOr. After a injury hit season Me si still managed 41 goals and 14 a sists, which for most people is a extremely impre sive record but it hasnt been the Argentinians best season. However, a good showing in last summers World Cup and collecting player of the tournament, in largely controversial circumstances states his claim. Under new manager Luiz Enrique, Me si has started wonderfully playing in a rather deeper role than previous years. The 27 year old is still Barcelonas go to man and that will not change in a hurry. 9 goals and 9 a sists proves his continued presence spearheading the new forward line along side another nominee Neymar. The Brazilian, 22, led Brazils World Cup attack very well until a unfortunate injury ruled him out. We all know what happened next. The former Santos man has started this season on top of his game, seemly a more mature figure and enjoying his football, subsequently sitting second in the La Liga scoring charts. Probably the most surprising aspect of the 23 nominated players was the omi sion of Luis Suarez. Many wouldnt disagree that if the bite on Giorgio Chiellini never happened Suarez could of been in contention for a top 3 finish depending on how Uruguay could of fared with the hot headed maverick. To conclude the contenders, German champions Bayern Munich have 6 including Toni Kroos this will be mainly due to Germany winning there first World Cup since 1990. Manchester City, Chelsea, Juventus, PSG, and Monaco all have one player each.Back to the favourite. Tipped my basically everyone to win the iconic golden ball once again. The goal-scoring feats which have been matched by nobody over the past twelve months and leaving the whole football world gobsmacked. A quite outstanding 51 goals last season is beginning to seem the norm, which of course it isnt, 274 goals in 261 games for Real speaks for itself. Fitne s concerns hampered performance levels during the summer, however there was still glimpses of what was to come for the following season. 9 league games in and 17 goals scored is most certainly on track for well over 50. At the age of 29, and at the height of his powers. There seems to be no stopping Cristiano Ronaldo. Merlin Olsen Jersey