messi is just a warrior folks. the man cannot be stopped. 82 goals in this day and age is simply unbelievable:
SAO PAULO (AP) -- Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta are the finalists for FIFA's world player of the year award.
They were picked from a list of 23 candidates for this year's Ballon d'Or, with Messi looking to become the first player to win the award four times. The Argentina and Barcelona playmaker won the award the last three years.
''I think they are perfect picks. There is no doubt these players are among the best,'' said former Brazil great Ronaldo, a three-time award winner. ''Messi and Ronaldo are really the only ones with a chance of winning, that's how it's been recently.''
The winner will be announced in Switzerland on Jan. 7. The only other players to have won the FIFA award three times are Ronaldo and former France great Zinedine Zidane.
The finalists for the women's world player award are five-time winner Marta and America duo Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach.
They led the United States to its third straight Olympic gold medal in London. Wambach made the shortlist last year, finishing third in the voting.
''Women's football was at its best this year,'' FIFA President Sepp Blatter said, noting the record crowds attending the matches at the London Games.
Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque, former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho were in the running for the world coach of the year award. The women's coach of the year award nominees are France's Bruno Bini, Japan's Norio Sasaki and former U.S. coach Pia Sundhage, who led the team to the gold at the 2012 Games.
The Puskas Award for the best goal of the year will be presented to Radamel Falcao, Neymar or Miroslav Stoch.
The 25-year-old Messi won his second Golden Boot award this year for scoring the most goals in Europe's domestic leagues last season. He has scored 82 goals this calendar year, putting him only three shy of Gerd Mueller's record.
Messi won last year's Ballon d'Or prize over Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a team leading 46 goals last season for Real Madrid.