Luka Modric has lure another massive football Award beaten off competitors in the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann,Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to crown the winner of 2018's Ballon d'Or.
The Croatian International and Real Madrid midfielder played a major role for his club as they win their third consecutive Champions League title, also he put impressive performance captaining Croatia to second place at the Russian 2018 World Cup.
Indeed, Modric after beaten Ronaldo and Griezmann to win the FIFA THE BEST AWARD and UEFA Player of the year this year has become the first player to break Messi and Ronaldo's long term duopoly of the Balloon d'or award since 2007, with Brazil icon Kaka being the last to lift the trophy before the Argentine and Portuguese stars collected five each across the following years.
"It's a unique feeling, I'm happy, proud and it's an honour," he said as he accepted the award. "[There are] extraordinary emotions at the moment.
"I just want to thank all those who helped me to be here tonight, I thank my team-mates, my coaches, the staff and Real Madrid, all those who work there, the coaches and team-mates in the national team, the ones who voted for me and my family, which allows me to blossom as a person.
"Always have dreams, I wanted to play in a big club, win titles, the Ballon d'Or is all I could dream [about] as a child, it's an honour to win it tonight.
"It's a great pleasure to be here around these players. I keep thinking, I'm trying to get used to being part of this group of exceptional players who have won the Ballon d'Or in history. It's a great pleasure to be part of this group.
"Throughout my career I understood that work, persistence, believing in yourself, is the basis for expressing your talent. I like a saying - the best is never easy. For me, it was not easy. It was necessary to seize the opportunities."
The Croatian believes changing his role in midfield has been a turning point in his career, saying it all came together while he was at Tottenham.
"Changing position allowed me to develop my game, before I was more an offensive player. When I retreated, I had a better vision of the game, I could better express my creativity, my game. In my second year in Tottenham, I played midfielder and I felt better in the".
Final Five
1: Luka Modric
2: Cristiano Ronaldo
3: Antoine Griezmann
4: Kylian Mbappe
5: Lionel Messi
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