4. Luka Modric
Only one player has won the Ballon d’Or ever since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi established their duopoly over the prestigious award this decade – and that distinction goes to Luka Modric, who lifted the Ballon d’Or, UEFA Best Men’s Player and the FIFA Best Men’s Player awards in 2018. AC Milan legend Ricardo Kaka was the first player ever to do that, but he lifted the Ballon d’Or back in 2007.
2018 was one of the best years as a footballer for Mopdic, as he first led Real Madrid to a hat-trick Champions League win at the end of the 2017-18 season, before captaining the Croatian national team to their first-ever FIFA World Cup final. The Croat joined Los Blancos in 2012 from Tottenham for a reported transfer fee of €35 million. He had already proved his talent at the Premier League by then, and joining the La Liga giants gave him the perfect opportunity to evolve into one of the best central midfielders of this generation.
His ability to score from long-range, coupled with his technical abilities has made him a nightmare for opposition teams for several years now. He has also been named in the FIFPro World XI five times this decade.
3. Karim Benzema
One of the most underrated strikers of the world right now, Karim Benzema has performed consistently well at the topmost levels for Real Madrid for more than ten years. He joined the Spanish outfit from Olympique Lyonnais in the summer of 2009 for a reported transfer fee of €35 million, and to date, he has scored 321 goals and provided 157 assists in 601 appearances for them.
For a greater part of the decade, the Frenchman was overshadowed by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and so on – but Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus followed by a decline in form of a few of his teammates helped in revealing how very important Benzema’s contributions were. In the past two seasons alone including the ongoing 2019-20 season, the 34-year-old has recorded 46 goals and 18 assists across 74 games for Real Madrid.
He has also scored some very decisive goals, including Real Madrid’s first goal in the UEFA Champions League 2017-18 final.
SEE ALSO:
- Top 10 Football Clubs That Sold Their Best Players!
- Real Madrid Players Salaries 2022 (Weekly Wages)
- Top 10 Real Madrid All Time Leading Goalscorers
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