ZURICH - Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Lionel Messi are the candidates for the FIFA world player of the year award.
Ronaldo has had an excellent year with Manchester United and Portugal while Brazil international Kaka helped AC Milan win the Champions League. Messi has been the revelation of the year with Barca.
The award will be made at FIFA's world player gala in Zurich on December 17.
Each national team manager and player is given a vote for their player of the year.
None of the trio have won the award or even been shortlisted before and it has never been won by a Premier League player.
Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro is the current holder of the award. French midfielder Zinedine Zidane and Brazilian striker Ronaldo both won it three times, while Ronaldinho has won the award twice.
In the women's award, Brazilian duo Cristiane and current holder Marta have both been shortlisted along with Germany's three-time winner Birgit Prinz.
