Messi, Ribery head Ballon d’Or nominees
FC Barcelona’s Neymar, third left, reacts after scoring against Real Madrid with his teammates Cesc Fabregas, right, Lionel Messi, second right, Daniel Alves, second left, and Sergio Busquets, left, during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013. AP
ZURICH — Lionel Messi, Franck Ribery, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Neymar are among 23 candidates on the short list for the Ballon d’Or announced by FIFA on Tuesday.
Ribery, who won UEFA’s best player in Europe award for the 2012-13 season, helped Bayern Munich win the Champions League and Bundesliga and German Cup titles.
Article continues after this advertisementMessi, winner of the last four Ballon d’Or awards in voting by coaches, team captains and media, was injured late in the season and could not prevent Barcelona from being beaten by Bayern in the Champions League semifinals.
The winner will be announced on Jan. 13 in Zurich.
Two now-retired managers — Alex Ferguson of Manchester United and Bayern’s Jupp Heynckes — are among 10 nominees for FIFA’s coach of the year award.
