A staff of the FIFA installs the Ballon d'Or trophy on January 7, 2013 at the Kongresshaus, ahead of


 The trio were chosen from the 23-man list, which included Gareth Bale, and the world player of the year will be revealed on 13 January. 


Barcelona's Messi has won four years in a row but Real Madrid forward Ronaldo is the favourite to win this year.

Embedded image permalink
Messi, Ribery, C Ronaldo

The women's final trio are Nadine Angerer (Germany), Marta (Brazil) and Abby Wambach (USA). Fifa has also confirmed the final three for coach of the year - with former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson vying with ex-Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes and Borussia Dortmund's Jurgen Klopp for the award.