Fifa announced today that the players who will contest the award are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery.
The award, which is voted for by eminent stakeholders in the game, including national team captains and managers, will be presented next month, but for the first time in years it is not certain to go to Messi.
Ribery, who was the most integral cog in the Bayern Munich machine that won the treble last season, was the early front-runner for the award.
Ronaldo's incredible form for Real Madrid across 2012 had him in the running, but his four goals in the World Cup play-off against Sweden looked to have pushed him into poll position.
Yet Messi remains on the radar, with a report based on interviews with those who had revealed who they had nominated suggesting the Barcelona forward could pick up the award for an unprecedented fifth time (the first of those saw the Argentina international pick up the Fifa World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or before they merged).