UEFA announces Europe's best players shortlist.

European football governing body, UEFA, has announced the shortlist for the Best Player in Europe during 2013/14 football season.

According to list posted on UEFA’s website some moments ago, the likes of Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are all nominated in the ten-strong list from the top European leagues.

However, Franck Ribery, last year’s winner, has not made the cut this time around.

Ribery’s four club teammates - Philipp Lahm, Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer, all represented Bayern Munich on the list.

Also, new Chelsea signing Diego Costa makes an appearance, after the Spain striker showcased a sterling performance throughout the La Liga season of last year.

Ronaldo and Messi are obvious mentions, while the latter’s Argentina teammate Angel Di Maria makes the list on the back of plenty of strong performances for Champions League winners Real Madrid.

According to football analysts, the surprise player on the list is Colombia’s James Rodríguez, with the 22-year-old lighting up the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, scoring a number of superb goals and leading his team to the quarter finals of the tournament

-naij