Ronaldo, Messi, Ibrahimovic, Ribery make 23-man nominees’ list for 2013 Ballon d’Or

FIFA has revealed the list of 23 footballers, who will battle it out to be named the winner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2013 prize.

The players were compiled by football experts from the FIFA Football Committee and a group of experts from France Football and the winners will be announced on January 13, 2014 in a televised show at the Zurich Kongresshaus.

The list features popular names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Franck Ribery, etc.

The following 23 men (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2013:

Gareth Bale (Wales)
Edinson Cavani (Uruguay)
Radamel Falcao (Colombia)
Eden Hazard (Belgium)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)
Andrés Iniesta (Spain)
Philipp Lahm (Germany)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Thomas Müller (Germany)
Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Neymar (Brazil)
Mesut Özil (Germany)
Andrea Pirlo (Italy)
Franck Ribéry (France)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
Thiago Silva (Brazil)
Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire)
Robin Van Persie (Netherlands)
Xavi (Spain).