This year’s Ballon d’Or brought something different for us, neither Messi nor Ronaldo won the cup. Ending a decade of dominance over the award held by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, it brought someone new for whom we had a very little idea about.
On Monday night in Paris, France Football confirmed at the award ceremony, Luka Modric was crowned as the Ballon d’Or winner this year.
During the award ceremony, Modric said “It is difficult to express my emotion and how I feel in words. It is something unique for me. It was very special tonight.
He further added saying, “Maybe in the past, there are some players who could have won the Ballon d’Or like Xavi or Andres Iniesta but people finally now are looking at someone else.”
The 33-year old Croatian is the first ever to be awarded the FIFA’s World Cup 2018 MVP, UEFA’s Player of the Year 2018, Best FIFA Footballer of the Year and the number one player by International Federation of Football History and Statistics in the same year.
“As a kid we all have dreams. My dream was to play for a big club and win important trophies,” Modric said. “The Ballon d’Or was more than just a dream for me and it is really an honour and a privilege to hold this trophy. 2018 is a dream year for me. Throughout my career, I realized hard work, persistence and belief in yourself in difficult moments are the foundations of success.”
2007 was the year when Kaka won the trophy, after which there has been a fight between Messi and Ronaldo over a decade.
Ronaldo, who recently been transferred from Real Madrid to Juventus this summer, came second. Atletico Madrid frontman Antoine Griezmann and PSG attacker Kylian Mbappe, both who played the world cup from France bagged third and fourth respectively. While Barcelona forward Messi finished fifth this year.
Not only this year Ballon d’Or gave us Luka Modric but also Ada Hegerberg, the first female Ballon d’Or award winner. She said that she’ll continue her protest and won’t play for Norway in the next year’s World Cup because her country doesn’t respect women players.
The 23-year-old said “I want to say thanks to France Football. It’s a huge step for women’s football.” Hegerberg also said “I want to end this speech with a message to all young girls in the world. Believe in yourselves.”
People do not know much about the Croatian star but one thing is certain his struggles have made him a major member of the Croatian football team, which we saw as an inspirational inning in the 2018 FIFA World Cup which ultimately lost to France in the title match.
So, here are some facts about Luca Modric that you probably did not know
Modric’s only player in the history of the game played for Tottenham, who gets the glory of being the Ballon d’Or winner.
Luka Modric has become the oldest player at the age of 33, winning the Ballon d’Or.
When he was six years old he was caught up in the “Croatian War of Independence” in 1991. While feeding cattle, Grandpa was murdered by local Serb rebels in cold blood.
He was born in the village of ‘Modrici’ in 1985.
There was a strong relationship with coach Tomislav Basic, who had the prestige of the second father’s reputation to Modric when he was initially rejected by Hadjuk Split.
He idolised Ronaldo from a young age. “They were these Nike ones and I loved them. I loved Ronaldo. The real Ronaldo! And I wore those shinpads for years. From when I was a little kid right up to when I started playing professionally in the Bosnian League. Ronaldo had lots of scars before I eventually gave them to someone as a present.”
Luca Modric has now become the first Croatian player to win this honour.
Modric won the Croatian Player of the Year on five occasions in 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2016, as well as the Croatian Federation’s ‘Football Oscars’ or the Best Player of the Year, in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Modric has scored for his country on eleven occasions and won ten of eleven matches, he has drawn 2-2 with Ukraine.
During his career, Modric played for Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), Zrinjski (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Inter Zapresic (Croatia), Tottenham (England), and Real Madrid (Spain).
FC Barcelona had the chance to sign Modric before Tottenham did.
Modric won the Champions League with Real Madrid and then directed Croatia to the World Cup final in July. He was selected as a player of the tournament.
Carlo Ancelloti is his favourite manager. Since moving to Real Madrid in 2012, Croat has worked under five managers.
