Ballon d'Or nominees released

  

Holder Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery are among the favourites for the 2013 Ballon d'Or, with the 23-man shortlist for the award released by Fifa on Monday.

Africa's sole representative Yaya Toure, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao are also among the nominees, while there are notably six players from Bayern Munich in contention.
Barcelona's Messi, Real Madrid's Ronaldo and Bayern's Ribery, however, are widely regarded as the main contenders for the top individual prize in world football.
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