Luka Modric wins 2018 Balon D’or

Croatia Midfielder and Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric has won the 2018 Ballon d’Or, and he becomes the first player other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to claim the award in more than a decade.

Modric, 33, won his third successive Champions League in May before helping Croatia to a first World Cup final in what was a highly successful season.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer, came second. Atletico Madrid frontman Antoine Griezmann and PSG attacker Kylian Mbappe – both of whom won the World Cup with France – third and fourth respectively. Barcelona forward Lionel Messi finished fifth

The latest award caps a stellar year for Modric, who also was named the world’s top male player at the Best Fifa Football Awards and received the Golden Ball award for the best player at the World Cup.

Speaking to Journalists at the ceremony,  Modric dedicated the award to all of the other players who have missed out in the 10 years dominated by Messi and Ronaldo.

“Maybe in the past there are some players who could have won the Ballon d’Or like Xavi, Andres Iniesta or [Wesley] Sneijder but people finally now are looking at someone else,” he said.

“This award is for all the players who probably deserved to win it and didn’t. It was a really special year for me.

“It is difficult to express my emotion and how I feel in words. It is something unique for me. It was very special.”

The Croatia Captain described Ronaldo and Messi as “phenomenal players”, adding:

“To win means I did something really special on the pitch this year, that’s why 2017-18 was the year for me.”

Luka Modric was one of eight Real Madrid players in the top 30, including Wales international Gareth Bale in 17th.

Lyon and Norway striker Ada Hegerberg, 23, won the inaugural Women’s Ballon d’Or while Mbappe, 19, became the first winner of the Kopa Trophy – awarded to the best under-21 player and selected by former Ballon d’Or winners.

The Top 10 For 2018

1. Luka Modric (Real Madrid and Croatia)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus and Portugal)

3. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid and France)

4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain and France)

5. Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)

6. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)

7. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid and France)

8. Eden Hazard (Chelsea and Belgium)

9. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City and Belgium)

10. Harry Kane (Tottenham and England)

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