Skip to main content

Luka Modric Wins Ballon d’Or, Ending Decade of Ronaldo and Messi Dominance

For the first time in over a decade, somebody other than Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, Luka Modric is the world’s best footballer.
Midfield wizard Luka Modric has been named recipient of the 2018 Ballon d’Or. The announcement came in Paris on Monday.

The award has been given out annually since 1956 through France Football Magazine to the player of the year as decided by a panel of football journalists.

The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder breaks up the 10-year streak of Ronaldo or Messi claiming the prize.

Juventus forward Ronaldo, the winner of the past two awards, finished second and Atletico Madrid and France striker Antoine Griezmann was third.
Barcelona’s Messi was left off the podium for the first time since 2006, largely due to Argentina’s poor showing at the World Cup, but was a part of the 30-man shortlist for the award that also included Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, Liverpool forward Mo Salah and Manchester United and France midfielder Paul Pogba.

Modric, 33, becomes the first Croatian to win the honour. Countryman and Real striker Davor Suker finished as runner-up in 1998.

It was a banner year for club and country for Modric. Modric helped Los Blancos claim a third straight Champions League title in a 3-1 victory over Liverpool in May that saw Modric win 100 per cent of his tackles without committing a foul and post a 94-per-cent accuracy rate with his passing.

The native of Zadar starred at June’s World Cup in which Croatia reached the Final for the first time where they ultimately fell 4-2 to France.

Modric claimed the Golden Ball as the most valuable player at the tournament, averaging 69 passes per match and logging the most minutes at the tourney of any player.

The inaugural women’s award was also handed out on Monday with Ada Hegerberg of Olympique Lyonnais claiming the honour.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Libya vs Nigeria: Samuel Kalu reveals Super Eagles’ 2nd leg game plan

Super Eagles forward, Samuel Kalu has revealed his team game plan when they take on Libya on Tuesday in the 2nd Leg of the 2019 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifying fixture. The Eagles head to the game after a 4-0 win against the North Africans in the 1st leg played on Saturday in Uyo. Kalu who scored the last goal for Nigeria against Libya in the first leg following Odion Ighalo’s hat-trick said Gernot Rohr’s men will approach the Mediterranean Knights with aggressiveness. ”We are definitely going into that match with a mindset of get all three points. We will approach the match with the same aggressive way like we did in Uyo,” the Bordeaux star told Allnigeriasoccer. ”It’s not going to be easy because the Libyans want to respond to their heavy loss but I am confident we will get the right result.” “I am well pleased to have scored my first goal for the national team,” Kalu added. ”As a young boy playing football on the streets, I always dreamt of scoring for Nigeria, and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tekashi 6ix9ine Drives The Flashiest Ferrari You've Ever Seen

Tekashi's car seriously matches his hair. When you think of 6ix9ine, you probably picture his obnoxiously-colored rainbow hair and teeth in your mind. The man has built a brand off of a combination of his unique image, his stylistic blend of different musical genres, and his Instagram trolling. Currently on a trip to Dubai, Tekashi has been keeping his fans updated with his latest stunting news. Yesterday, the artist revealed that he had spent $50K after spending just 10 minutes inside the Gucci store. Some would say that he's being financially irresponsible but considering all of the success he's experienced this year, his paychecks are probably looking larger than life. Who knows how long he'll be in Dubai but 6ix9ine is actually driving around in a custom rainbow Ferrari while he's overseas. In a place where nearly everybody drives an expensive whip, it can be hard to outdo the residents of Dubai. Unless your name is Tekashi 6ix9ine , that is. While riding t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arsenal stars jet out to Lisbon ahead of Europa League tie vs Sporting

Arsenal stars appeared to be in buoyant moods as they jetted out to Lisbon ahead of Europa League clash against Sporting with the club closing in on their record number of wins in a row. Unai Emery's men will go in search of their 11th win on the bounce when they face Portugal giants Sporting on Thursday evening, which is only three away from their all-time record that came back in 1987. The Arsenal squad departed London on Wednesday and are due to touch down in the Portuguese capital later this evening. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has played a significant role in Arsenal's winning run with four goals from his last two games, took to social media to post a picture of him with several of his team-mates sat in their seats during the flight. Lucas Torreira also shared a snap of him and Emiliano Martinez on Instagram drinking mate tea out of a gourd during their flight to Lisbon. Unai Emery will be hoping it will help Torreira and Co pick up the three points in the Portug...
Post a Comment
Read more