Iniesta and Messi: In the running for top award

The three nominated players received the most overall points from the first round of voting for the award which will be presented in Monaco on 30 August.

Iniesta and Messi, who both play for Barcelona, will be joined by Real Madrid midfielder Ronaldo on the short list, with Juventus' Andrea Pirlo and Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez just missing out.

Bangor City's Les Davies, who featured on the 32-man long list for the award, was another who did not make it to the final round.

The original list was drawn up by one selected journalist from each UEFA member country voting for five players.