Ballon D'Or 2012 Nominees Announced with Ronaldo, Messi, Barcelona, Real Madrid Dominating; Breakdown and Surprises

The 23 Ballon D'Or nominees were finally unveiled on Monday and the list included a substantial amount of surprises.

The complete list is as follows:

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely seen as the favorite contenders for the prestigious award, but they were joined by a plethora of surprising candidates.

Highlighted on the above list are all the players that are either a part of the Spanish National side or a part of a club in Spain as these two were the most represented of all nominees. 12 La liga players were nominated of which 5 play for Barcelona, 1 plays for Atletico Madrid, and the remaining six play for Real Madrid. The lone player from La Liga that was from Atletico Madrid was Colombian born Radamel Falcao.

Seven Spanish nations were also on the list including Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, and Sergio Ramos. The main reason for this is likely due to the fact that all these players play for the top two teams in the Spanish league and were all a part of the Euro 2012 Championship side that made history.

Aside from those players other nominees were rather surprising. Mario Balotelli's insertion comes to mind despite an unbelievable Euro 2012 campaign. He has otherwise seen limited playtime for Manchester City. The fact that only one player from the Fist Division Bundesliga was on the list (Manuel Neuer, a keeper no less) was also quite shocking as it is one of the more competitive leagues in the world. 

In late November, FIFA will cut down the list to just three contestants which will be awarded in January.