As it were, as nominees for FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011 announced

The contenders were announced Monday 5 December 2011, at a press conference held at the headquarters of France Football magazine in Paris, France.

The names for the female and best coach awards were also announced with Brazilian Marta, Japanese Homare Sawa and America's Abby Wambach named.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, Manchester United's Alex Ferguson and Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho are the nominees for the coaching award.

Messi, looks set to retain the title he won last year, after leading Barcelona to the Spanish league title and European Champions league. Marta was the recipient of the female award.

All the awards will be presented at the FIFA Ballon d’Or, which will be held at the Kongresshaus in Zurich, FIFA’s home city, on Monday 9 January 2012. 

The gala, formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year Gala, has been in existence since 1991. Last year it underwent a significant change when it merged with France Football’s Ballon d’Or award to form the new FIFA Ballon d’Or. 

In addition to the awards given to the best male and the best female player, the best coaches as well as to the scorer of the best goal, three more honours will be revealed: the FIFA/FIFPro World XI, the FIFA Presidential Award and the FIFA Fair Play Award.