Real Madrid and Croatia star Luka Modric won FIFA’s Best Men’s Player of the Year award thus becoming the first Croatian to win the award. This was the first time since 2007 that neither of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi won the coveted award. Modric received 29.05% of the votes while Cristiano Ronaldo came second with 19.08% of the votes. Mohamed Salah was third with 11.05% of the votes.
Kylian Mbappe came fourth while Lionel Messi came in fifth. Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, Raphael Varane and Harry Kane made up the top 10.
Modric had a terrific 2017-18 season where he helped Real Madrid to their third successive Champions League triumph. The 33-year old charismatically led Croatia to the World Cup final this summer and won the Golden Ball.
Luka Modric paid tribute to his footballing hero and Croatia legend Zvonimir Boban. He said, “He was my big inspiration and that team gave us belief that we could achieve something great in Russia. Hopefully we can be the same for next generations. This award shows that we all can become the best with hard work, dedication and belief. All dreams can come true.”
Brazilian footballer Marta won the Women’s Player of the Year for the 6th time while Thibaut Courtois won the Best Goalkeeper of the Year award. Courtois won the Golden Glove at the World Cup this summer. France coach Didier Deschamps won the Best manager award after guiding his team to their second World Cup title.