Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann shortlisted for Fifa Player of the Year award

Zurich: World football’s governing body Fifa on Friday named Antoine Griezmann along with perennial rivals Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the final three nominees for the ‘Best Men’s Player’ award. Fifa pruned a list of 23 names down to the elite trio after voting by captains and coaches of national teams, select members of the media and fans on fifa.com. [caption id=“attachment_3137940” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Lionel Messi (R) and Cristiano Ronaldo have been perennial rivals for the award. Reuters[/caption] The winner will be crowned on 9 January. Ronaldo had an outstanding year in continental competitions, securing his third Champions League title, his second for Real Madrid, finishing as the top scorer with 16 goals on the way to the final, in which the Portuguese scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Atletico Madrid. Six weeks later, he captained his country to their first major trophy at Euro 2016, scoring three goals in the tournament to help his side to victory. Atletico Madrid’s Griezmann announced himself as one of the world’s outstanding players this year thanks, in part, to his performances at Euro 2016, on home soil. The forward was the top scorer in the tournament as he helped his country reach the final, only to be defeated by Ronaldo’s Portugal. The Frenchman also ended the 2015-‘16 season as his club’s top scorer, helping Atletico to the third place in La Liga, and to the final of the Champions League, in which they lost narrowly to Ronaldo’s Real Madrid. Argentina and FC Barcelona’s talisman Messi also had a phenomenal year, guiding his side to a league and cup double. He scored 26 goals in an incredibly tight La Liga title race, and captained his country to the final of the Copa America Centenario, in which Argentina lost to Chile.