On Dec. 3rd an annual Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place in Paris, France. During this ceremony, the greatest soccer players are awarded various awards for their performances during the past season. The Ballon d’Or trophy is given to the best player of the past season. This player is voted by the highest ranked FIFA members.
During the past 10 years, this prize has been won by two of our generation greatest players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. They have won this trophy five times each in the past ten years. This shows how dominant they were when it came to individual awards. This year something changed. Neither Messi or Ronaldo was able to win the Ballon d’Or. Their time of dominance has come to an end. The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner was Luka Modric.
Modric plays for Real Madrid and the Croatian national team. Modric is a central midfield that is known for his dribbling skills, defending abilities, and creative passes. This past season he was able to achieve the impossible. With Real Madrid, he won the most important tournament in European which is the UEFA Champions League. He also carried Croatia, which was not one of the favorites to win the World Cup, to the Final. He was named Captain of the Croatia national Team and played his best to help his team make the World Cup final. In the final, they were unable to defeat the fierce French national team which was built up by very young and talented footballers.
During this past season, Modric has also won a variety of individual awards for his performances in different tournaments. He was named the best player in the past World Cup that took place in Russia. He was also awarded the UEFA player of the year which is given to the best performing European. Luka Modric also won a prize called “The Best” which was given to him for his amazing performances in the Champions League. All of these prizes have influenced the decision of voting in favor of Luka Modric and gifting him his first Ballon d’Or at his 33 years of age.
