Real Madrid’s Luka Modric wins the Ballon d’Or

For the first time in 10 years, a player not named Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi has won the coveted Ballon d’Or trophy awarded annually to the best player in Europe. Real Madrid midfielder won this year’s award by a landslide thanks to his consistently fantastic play.

Croatian Luka Modric has earned himself a career’s worth of trophies in just the last seven months or so. Helping Los Blancos to its third consecutive Champions League title, guiding the small nation of Croatia all the way to the final of the World Cup in Russia, and winning FIFA’s ‘The Best’ trophy are just some of the amazing parts of Modric’s calendar year.

To end the Ronaldo and Messi decade of dominance, Modric had to put together one of the best year’s ever seen in European football and that is exactly what he did.

According to leaks from the award show, Modric beat out Ronaldo by nearly three hundred points! Clearly, the media took note of the incredible play from Luka on both the international and club level.

The Real Madrid number ten managed to not only beat out Ronaldo, but also Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann, PSG forward Kylian Mbappe, and Messi who finished with 280 points – nearly 500 behind Modric.

What makes this award announcement even better is the fact that Modric was all but guaranteed the coveted award after winning ‘The Best’ and winning the best player of the World Cup award.

Don’t try to overthink the statistics when considering why a midfielder like Luka Modric won. The MVP of a team is not always the player who scores the most or makes all the big plays. It is the player who is the most consistent and makes a world of difference for his team.

Modric was in a master-class from January until the end of the World Cup. Yes, his form has not been near where it was a few months back, but it is understandable.

The central midfielder is tasked with covering two-thirds of the field, which of course requires a great amount of stamina and composure for the full 90 minutes.

Watching Real Madrid play without him under Zinedine Zidane showed just how great of a player he truly is. At 33, the Croatian has the pace and stamina to keep up with talented players 10 years his minor.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Modric said in his acceptance speech. “I am still trying to realize that I have become part of a group of exceptional players to win the Ballon d’Or. One phrase I like to say: ‘The best things never come easy.’ For me to achieve all this, nothing was easy.”

Thought the road has been long and winding, Luka Modric persevered and managed to secure his name in the record books forever.

Once again, congratulations to Luka! Hala Madrid!

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