Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery shortlisted for the UEFA Europe's Best Player for the 2012/13 Award.
These
three candidates were chosen from the original list of 10. The list has
been formed by football journalists from UEFA member countries.
Messi
won the inaugural award two seasons ago while his Barcelona teammate
Andres Iniesta claimed the prestigious honour 12 months ago.
The
Argentinian helped Barcelona win the Spanish League Championship last
season, and he picked up the European Golden Shoe award in the process
thanks to 46 La Liga goals.
Frenchman Ribery was part of a Bayern team to complete the treble of Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup.
Portugal's Ronaldo, meanwhile, netted 34 league goals for Real Madrid and was top-scorer in the Champions League with 12 goals.
The award ceremony will take place in Monaco, on August 29, when the draw for the group stage of the Champions League is made.
7 good footballers which failed to qualify for the final round are listed below, in the order of gained rating:
4th: Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund)
5th: Arjen Robben (Bayern Munchen)
6th: Thomas Muller (Bayern Munchen)
7th: Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur)
8th: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munchen)
9th: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St Germain)
10th: Robin van Persie (Manchester United) 
