Barcelona's Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi are the three-man shortlist for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or award. The original long-list of 23 names has been trimmed and only the three Barcelona players remain.
This year is the first time the award will be presented after FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or awards were merged into a single prize.
Messi won both awards in 2009, but despite another fantastic season at club level he had a disappointing World Cup by his own high standards, failing to score in the tournament as Argentina, coached by Diego Maradona, suffered a 4-0 defeat by Germany in the quarter-finals.
Xavi and Iniesta were members of Spain's World Cup-winning team.
Spain's coach Vicente del Bosque, Barcelona's Pep Guardiola and Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho, who won the Champions League with Inter Milan, were shortlisted for the Coach of the Year award.