Croatia and Real Madrid star Luka Modric has been named the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner with Cristiano Ronaldo placing second and Kylian Mbappe coming third.
The award ceremony was held tonight in Paris, France and the Croatian midfielder was accompanied by Real Madrid bigwigs to pick the most prestigious football award on the planet.
Modric earlier this season won the FIFA player of the year award and the Golden Ball award at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Modric has been part of the Los Blancos side that has conquered Europe for the four times in five seasons, in which they managed to win the Champions League three times in a row with departed Zinedine Zidane as the coach.
Ronaldo-Messi reign
Their reign ended on December 3, 2018, as Luka Modric recouped the trophy from their hands and have been crowned the Balon d'Or.
Like Kaka, Modric becomes the first player since 2007 to beat the duo to the award and also becomes the first Croatian to pick up the prestigious prize.
The World Cup in Russia this summer has proved a strong influence as well as Modric's success with Real Madrid.
In Europe, a third consecutive Champions League title made him a leader in a legendary team, whilst he also took a Croatia to the World Cup final only to be defeated by France, boasting the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Raphael Varane and Kylian Mbappe.
Read also: 5 things to know ahead of tonight's Ballon d'Or awards
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