Fifa and France Football have revealed the names of the three candidates who will be up for the award.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer have made the three-man shortlist for the 2014 Fifa Ballon d’Or.
Ronaldo, 29, is the favourite for the award after helping Real Madrid win the Champions League last season, scoring 17 times to set a new record for most goals scored in the competition in one campaign.
The former Manchester United attacker has scored 50 goals in 41 total appearances in 2014 so far and could claim the award for the third time after being named the winner over Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in 2008 and 2013.
Messi himself is in contention to scoop the accolade for a record fifth time after netting 44 times in 48 games for the Catalan giants and has added weight to his case in recent weeks after becoming the all-time top scorer in both La Liga and the Champions League.
The 27-year-old also made the World Cup final with Argentina this past summer, before falling 1-0 to Germany in extra-time, but failed to win any major trophies with Barca last season under the since-departed Gerardo Martino.