FIFA names Lionel Messi, Franck Ribery, Cristiano Ronaldo as Ballon d'Or finalists

Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo have been announced as the the three final nominees for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award.

The trio come as no surprise after the initial 23-man shortlist was released at the end of October.

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is one of three contenders for the Coach of the Year award alongside ex-Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes and Jurgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund.

FIFA also revealed the nominees for Goal of the Year, Women's World Player and Women's Coach of the Year.

Ballon d'Or: Lionel Messi, Franck Ribery, Cristiano Ronaldo

Coach of the Year: Sir Alex Ferguson, Jupp Heynckes, Jurgen Klopp

Goal of the Year (Puskas Award): Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden vs. England), Nemanja Matic (Benfica vs. Porto), Neymar (Brazil vs. Japan)

Women's World Player: Nadine Angerer, Marta, Abby Wambach

Women's Coach of the Year: Ralf Kellermann, Silvia Neid, Pia Sundhage

The winners will be announced in Zurich on January 13.