Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer, Cristiano Ronaldo 2014 FIFA Ballon D'Or Finalists

And then there were three.

Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer and Cristiano Ronaldo were named finalists for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or Award on Monday. The three are vying for soccer’s most prestigious individual award and recognition as the best male player in the sport this year.

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Messi, Neuer and Ronaldo were the only survivors from the original 23-man short-list that FIFA unveiled in October.

Either Messi, 27, or Ronaldo, 29, has won every FIFA Ballon d’Or Award (or its predecessors — the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award) since 2008. Messi won four straight FIFA Ballon d’Ors between 2009 and 2012. Ronaldo won in 2008 and 2014.

Neuer, 28, is attempting to become the first goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or since legendary Russian Lev Yashin won it in 1963. Neuer has a strong case, as he back-stopped Germany to the 2014 FIFA World Cup title and helped Bayern Munich dominate German soccer and reach the semifinals of last season’s UEFA Champions League.

Ronaldo led Real Madrid to glory in last season’s Champions League and Copa del Rey (Spanish cup). However, injury hobbled Ronaldo at the 2014 World Cup, and Portugal failed to progress past the group stage.

Messi was injured in the early part of the year but returned to help Barcelona reach the Copa del Rey final, the Champions League quarterfinal and finish second in Spain’s La Liga (first division). Messi then captained Argentina to the World Cup final where it lost to Neuer’s Germany. FIFA controversially awarded Messi the 2014 World Cup Golden Ball, recognizing him as the best player in the tournament.

FIFA will announce the 2014 Ballon d’Or winner at a gala in Zurich, Switzerland, on Jan. 12, 2015.