World Cup winners Spain dominated the contenders list for the prestigious Ballon d'Or with seven of the champions making the list. Barcelona's Xavi, David Villa, Carles Puyol and Andres Iniesta all figured in the list along with Real Madrid's Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas and Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.
The list, which was dominated by World Cup stars such as Asamoah Gyan, Diego Forlan and Arjen Robben, also included five Germans to the likes of Thomas Mueller, Philipp Lahm, Miroslav Klose, Bastien Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil.
After a disastrous performance in the World Cup, no English player could find his way into the prestigious list. Wayne Rooney, who scored 34 goals for Manchester United last season is a notable absentee.
The Premier League had another representative other than Gyan and Fabregas - Chelsea's Didier Drogba.
Treble winners Inter Milan could also boast of four of their players making the list, including Samuel Eto'o, Julio Cesar, Wesley Sneijder and Maicon. The man who guided them to the treble, Jose Mourinho, leads the World Coach of the year nominees.
Messi is the reigning Ballon d'Or winner and Fifa World Player of the Year, but the awards have now been merged, so the best player in the world will be recognised by a single accolade - the Fifa Ballon d'Or.
The winners will be revealed in Zurich on 10th January, 2011.
World Player of the Year nominees:
Xabi Alonso (Spain), Daniel Alves (Brazil), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Julio Cesar (Brazil), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Maicon (Brazil), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Muller (Germany), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Carles Puyol (Spain), Arjen Robben (Holland), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Holland), David Villa (Spain) and Xavi (Spain).
World Coach of the Year nominees:
Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea), Vicente del Bosque (Spain), Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United), Pep Guardiola (Barcelona), Joachim Low (Germany), Jose Mourinho (Inter Milan/Real Madrid), Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay), Louis Van Gaal (Bayern Munich), Bert van Marwijk (Holland) and 
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal).
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