Rooney, Suarez and Van Persie Shortlisted for FIFA Award

Manchester United pair Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, Manchester City duo Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli and Liverpool's Luis Suarez are among the 15 forwards nominated for selection in the FIFA FIFPro World XI.

Former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba, who scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out in the Champions League final win over Bayern Munich, is also included.

La Liga is represented by four players, including Ballon d'Or nominees Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, as well as Real Madrid's Karim Benzema and Atletico Madrid's Radamel Falcao.

Edinson Cavani from Napoli, Paris Saint Germain's Zlatan Ibrahmiovic, Bayern Munich hitman Mario Gomez and Samuel Eto'o of Anzhi Makhachkala complete the list, while Neymar is the only entry who is currently applying his trade away from Europe.

The news comes as FIFA confirm that Ronaldo, Messi and Andres Iniesta are confirmed as the three nominees for the 2012 Ballon d'Or award.

While Ronaldo helped Madrid win La Liga and Iniesta finish as the best player at Euro 2012, Messi is on the verge of eclipsing Gurd Muller as the highest scoring player in a calendar year.

However, the Argentine maestro has missed out on the Pukas Goal of the Year award shortlist, with Neymar's mazy run against Internacional, Falcao's acrobatic volley against America de Cali and Miroslav Stoch's strike against Genclerbirligi all winning the public vote.

In the manager of the year award, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Vicente del Bosque are the nominees for the men's award, with Roberto Di Matteo, a winner of the FA Cup and the Champions League with Chelsea, overlooked.

All awards will be presented during the FIFA Ballon d'or gala in Zurich on 7 January.

FIFA FIFPro World XI strikers:

Sergio Agüero (Argentina, Manchester City), Mario Balotelli (Italy, Manchester City), Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid), Edinson Cavani (Uruguay, AS Napoli), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Shanghai Shenhua), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon, Anzhi Makhachkala), Radamel Falcao (Colombia, Atletico Madrid), Mario Gomez (Germany, Bayern Munich), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, Paris Saint-Germain), Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona), Neymar (Brazil, Santos), Robin van Persie (The Netherlands, Manchester United), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid), Wayne Rooney (England, Manchester United), Luis Suarez (Uruguay, Liverpool)