Ashley Cole, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney made the cut, along with another 12 players from the Premier League - 13 if you include the now retired former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
Spain's top league boasts 22 nominees, made up predominantly of players from European champions Barcelona and their arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Nine of Barca's starting XI which beat Manchester United in the Champions League final in May are included - Victor Valdes, Eric Abidal, Carles Puyol, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Lionel Messi - with Pedro and Javier Mascherano the men to miss out.
Madrid can boast 10 inclusions - Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Carvalho and Iker Casillas are among those named.
Italy's Serie A contributes nine players, including Andrea Pirlo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianlugi Buffon, with four coming from Germany's Bundesliga and one each from Russia's Premier League and Brazil's Campeonato.
The nominees were voted on by the 50,000 professional footballers belonging to the players' unions across the world that form FIFPro.
The final XI will be announced at the FIFA Ballon d'Or in Zurich on January 9, 2012.
Source: PA
Source: PA