The final shortlist of candidates to win the Ballon d'Or, or the European Footballer of the Year award, has been released showing Barcelona forward Lionel Messi to be the outright favorite.

A list of 30 players released last month has now been reduced to 10 with Barcelona having four names among the finalists, including Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Manchester United's Wayne Rooney represent England in the final shortlist.

Last year's winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, who now plays at Real Madrid, is among the finalists. The Spanish club also has Kaka on the list.

The shortlist is completed by Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o, who moved to Inter Milan before the start of the new season and is the only Italian-based player named.

There were no Italian or German players on the original 30-man list. After Karim Benzema, Yoann Gourcuff and Franck Ribery were all dropped, no French players were left on the list.

Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas are among the other high-profile casualties.

The winner of the prestigious award, organized by the France Football magazine, will be elected by votes from soccer journalists and will be announced on Tuesday.

AKM/HGH