La Liga trio shortlisted for Ballon d´Or

Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo are the remaining three candidates in the running for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or.

Messi helped Barcelona to the Copa del Rey title last term and has since guided Argentina to top spot in their 2014 World Cup qualification section.

The Argentine has netted an extraordinary 82 goals since January, and needs only three more in 2012 to equal Gerd Mueller’s record of 85 strikes for club and country in a calendar year.

Ronaldo played a central role in Real Madrid’s La Liga triumph last term, scoring 46 league goals, and also reached the semi-finals of Euro 2012 with Portugal.

Iniesta triumphed with Spain at Euro 2012 and won the Copa del Rey alongside team-mate Messi.

Messi is seeking to be crowned the world’s best footballer for an unprecedented fourth straight year.

In the Coach of the Year category, Vicente Del Bosque, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho were named as the final nominees.

Bruno Bini, Norio Sasaki and Pia Sundhage are the trio up for the Coach of the Year trophy in women’s football.

Radamel Falcao, Neymar and Miroslav Stoch are in the running to win the Puskas award for goal of the season, while Marta, Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan are in contention for the Women’s Player of the Year.

The winners of the awards will be announced in Zurich on January 7.