FA Cup final opponents Didier Drogba of Chelsea and Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo are on the six-man shortlist for the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award.
Two other United players, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, are included, along with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who won last year.
The award will be presented next Sunday and the 22-year-old Ronaldo, who has scored 21 goals in helping United to the top of the Premiership and semifinals of the Champions League, as well as the FA Cup final at Wembley, is many people's idea of the winner.
"Cristiano is the most exciting player in the country at the moment -- the quickness of his feet and the skills he possesses make you think, at times, that he is from another planet," said PFA chief executive Taylor.
Ivory Coast striker Drogba, who could also line-up against United in the Champions League final, has strong claims too, having already topped 30 goals for the season in which his club has already lifted the League Cup and still retain high hopes of success in three other competitions.
"Didier has, arguably, been Chelsea's best and most consistent performer this season -- no mean achievement when he is playing alongside so many top-class players at Stamford Bridge," said Taylor.
Ronaldo and the 19-year-old Fabregas are also amongst the nominations for the Young Player of the Year award, alongside Rooney, the winner of that honor for the last two seasons.
Scholes and Giggs have both recaptured their best form in United's outstanding season and Gerrard has been a key figure as Liverpool have again showed themselves to be accomplished performers in Europe, reaching the last four in the Champions League, where they will tackle Chelsea.
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