Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Andreas Iniesta nominated for UEFA award

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will go head to head once again in the battle to be crowned UEFA's Best Player in Europe.

Messi's Barcelona teammate Andreas Iniesta completes the three-man shortlist, which originally included 32 of the continent's finest players.

Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo and Barca midfielder Xavi narrowly missed out on the top three for the award, which will be decided on August 30.

Argentine Messi is the favourite to retain the prize he won last year after scoring 72 goals in 60 appearances last season, compared to Ronaldo's 66 strikes in 61 games.