What A Performance! Luka Modric Ends Decade Old Messi, Ronaldo Duopoly To Win Ballon D’Or 2018

Ballon D’Or 2018 was a year of firsts for the footballing fraternity as a decade of dominance of superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was finally broken by Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric.

The 33-year-old won the award after a brilliant season in 2017-18 with Real Madrid followed by a mesmerising performance in the World Cup where he led his country to the finals.

He was credited for showing grit and determination to inspire his teammates by leading from the front. Modric in the seven World Cup games scored two goals and had a co having a hand in the other goals scored by his team when he was on the field.

"Maybe in the past, there are some players who could have won the Ballon d'Or like Xavi, Andres Iniesta or [Wesley] Sneijder but people finally now are looking at someone else. This award is for all the players who probably deserved to win it and didn't. It was a really special year for me. It is difficult to express my emotion and how I feel in words. It is something unique for me. It was very special ", said Modric after winning the title, reports BBC.

On the other hand, 23-year-old Norwegian Ada Hegerberg went down in the history books by becoming the first to win the woman’s Ballon d'Or. Ada who plays for French giants Olympique Lyonnais, racked up 31 goals for her club in 20 games while scoring over 250 goals in the short span of her career.

However, the ceremony attracted controversy after she was asked if she could “twerk” after winning her award by the host, DJ Martin Solveig. He has since apologised for the comment.