Messi, Ribery & Ronaldo on 23-man Ballon d'Or shortlist

Fifa and France Football have revealed the 23-man shortlist for the 2013 Fifa Ballon d'Or, with title-holder Lionel Messi, Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery and Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo among the candidates to win the individual award.

Ribery is accompanied by five Bayern Munich team-mates following the Bundesliga giants' impressive 2012-13 campaign.

Furthermore, usual suspects such as Andres Iniesta and Xavi have made the cut, as well as Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The final decisions will be made by the captains and head coaches of the men’s national teams as well as international media representatives selected by France Football.

In early December 2013, Fifa and France Football will announce the names of the three men who have received the most votes, without revealing the winner.

The winners of the award will be revealed at the Fifa Ballon d’Or gala as part of a televised show at the Zurich Kongresshaus on 13 January 2014.

Last year's podium was made up of Messi, Ronaldo and Iniesta.

SHORTLIST IN FULL:

Franck Ribery	Bayern Munich	France
Arjen Robben	Bayern Munich	Netherlands
Thomas Muller	Bayern Munich	Germany
Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	Germany
Philipp Lahm	Bayern Munich	Germany
Bastian Schweinsteiger	Bayern Munich	Germany
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	Argentina
Andres Iniesta	Barcelona	Spain
Xavi	Barcelona	Spain
Neymar	Barcelona	Brazil
Zlatan Ibrahimovic	Paris Saint-Germain	Sweden
Edinson Cavani	Paris Saint-Germain	Uruguay
Thiago Silva	Paris Saint-Germain	Brazil
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	Portugal
Gareth Bale	Real Madrid	Wales
Mesut Ozil	Arsenal	Germany
Robin van Persie	Manchester United	Netherlands
Yaya Toure	Manchester City	Cote d'Ivoire
Luis Suarez	Liverpool	Uruguay
Andrea Pirlo	Juventus	Italy
Radamel Falcao	Monaco	Colombia
Eden Hazard	Chelsea	Belgium
Robert Lewandowski	Borussia Dortmund	Poland

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