Messi, Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic head World XI list

Associated Press Sports

updated 9:21 a.m. ET Nov. 29, 2012

ZURICH (AP) -Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic head the list of candidates for selection as forwards in a FIFPro World XI.

Neymar and Uruguay teammates Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are also among 15 nominees for three places in the world lineup.

Contenders from South America include Radamel Falcao and Sergio Aguero.

Manchester United teammates Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney, and Aguero's Manchester City colleague Mario Balotelli represent the Premier League.

Africa has Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o in contention. France's Karim Benzema and Mario Gomez of Germany complete the list.

Candidates for other positions were previously announced.

The FIFPro World XI, chosen by 50,000 members of the global players' union, will be announced on Jan. 7 at the FIFA Ballon D'Or gala in Zurich.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More newsStephen Dunn / Getty Images

Bye, Becks

PST: What a run. After Galaxy signed soccer superstar in 2007, everything changed for league ? more media exposure, franchise expansion and better players. A retrospective.

Mark Kolbe / Getty Images

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50008698/ns/sports-soccer/

Kitty Wells Marissa Mayer Jon Lord weather.com Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting