Real Madrid’s Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was named winner of the 2018 Ballon d’Or on Monday, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s and Lionel Messi’s decade-long hold on the prestigious award. Juventus forward and 2017 winner Ronaldo came second, while Atletico Madrid and France striker Antoine Griezmann came third.
Paris St Germain’s France forward Kylian Mbappe, who also collected the Kopa award for the best under-21 player, was fourth, with Barca forward Messi finishing fifth. Olympique Lyonnais’ Norway striker Ada Hegerberg won the inaugural Ballon d’Or for women’s football, having led her side to the Women’s Champions League title, scoring in extra time in the 4-1 win over Vfl Wolfsburg in the final.
Ballon d'Or: Luka Modric ends dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo https://t.co/7pHZl9jJAT pic.twitter.com/HyAIfYRPhF
— KwikNews Malaysia (@kwiknewsMY) December 4, 2018
Modric, 33, helped Real Madrid win a third successive Champions League title in May and also captained Croatia to their first World Cup final, being named player of the tournament despite his side losing 4-2 to France. “It’s a unique feeling. I’m happy proud and honoured, I have a lot of emotions right now, it’s hard to describe in words,” said Modric, wearing a tuxedo as he collected the award from presenter and former France forward David Ginola after a glamorous ceremony at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Finally someone else wins the #BallonDor, congrats legend @lukamodric10 ππΌβ½οΈππ₯
— ΡaraΠ½ β½οΈ (@sarahchamma) December 3, 2018
Modric, who joined Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 for a reported 40 million euros ($45.40 million), was criticised in his debut season at the Bernabeu and named the worst signing of the year in a poll by newspaper Marca. But the diminutive playmaker began to demonstrate the quality he had shown at Spurs when Jose Mourinho deployed him in a deep lying role in Real’s midfield rather than the attacking role he had been given at the start of that campaign. Modric said the positional change, which was first suggested to him by Harry Redknapp at Tottenham, transformed his form.
There were two vacant seats in the front row as Luka Modric’s crowning at the 2018 Ballon d’Or ceremony brought the curtain down on a dominant era and signaled the beginning of a new one. The culprits? The two who had shared the prize over the past 10 years but who must now go by the title of the Croatian’s predecessors.
It was well documented that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would finally be toppled off their perch on Monday night, and the two both rejected the invitation to witness their own ousting at the decadent Grand Palais in Paris.