Nemanja Vidic - who is favourite to lift the trophy - Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Edwin van der Sar and last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo are all in the running, along with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
From the beginning, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has made no attempt to disguise his distaste for Steven Donziger, the crusading attorney representing Ecuadorian villagers in their long-running pollution suit against Chevron.