Messi, Ronaldo and Ribery will compete for the title of the best football player in Europe © EuroFootball.com

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery - these three world-renowned footballers are in the running to receive the UEFA Best Player in Europe award.

On Tuesday, UEFA announced that the stars of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will compete for the title of the best player of the last season who played in the Old Continent.

F.Ribery is the only footballer who managed to win the Champions League trophies last season. This fact strengthens the position of the Frenchman.

The award will be presented on August 29 during the draw ceremony of the Champions League group stage in Monaco.

Two seasons ago, this award was won by L.Messi, and last year - by his teammate Andres Iniesta.