After 10 years of nothing but Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has become the first player since Kaká back in 2007 to wrest football’s biggest individual accolade from the two behemoths of the modern game: The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner is Luka.
Messi finished fifth and Ronaldo second, but Modric won the award by a comfortable margin after leading Croatia to the final of the World Cup and receiving the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. At club level, Modric was inspirational in helping Real capture its third straight Champions League title and fourth in five years overall.
Et le vainqueur du #ballondor 2018 est… Luka Modric ! pic.twitter.com/OhgLykPRpc
— la chaine L'Équipe (@lachainelequipe) December 3, 2018
After previously winning the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award and The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, today’s ceremony was something of a formality.
Here are the final standings from the vote.
2018 Ballon d'Or Winner: Final Standings
Tie #29: Isco and Hugo Lloris
Let's begin to reveal the Ballon d'Or ranking with numbers 29:
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#28. Diego Godin
Diego Godin (@diegogodin) is 28th in the Ballon d'Or 2018
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
Tie #25: Alisson Becker, Mario Mandzukic and Jan Oblak
Three players are ranked in 25th position for the Ballon d'Or 2018:
The final ranking https://t.co/X6f0qMHOwz#ballondor pic.twitter.com/YLPr8a3IQn
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
Tie #22: Edinson Cavani, Sadio Mane and Marcelo
Three more players in 22nd position!
The final ranking https://t.co/QE3BgDi4jx#ballondor pic.twitter.com/SzGCCv7mWV
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
Tie #19: Roberto Firmino, Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Ramos
The 19th position is for three different players:
The final ranking https://t.co/YHLQa5udCf#ballondor pic.twitter.com/ItBkG2ND7v
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
Tie #17: Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema
They are playing for Real Madrid and they share the 17th place for the 2018 Ballon d'Or:
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#16: Sergio Aguero
Congrats to Sergio Agüero (@aguerosergiokun) for your 16th rank in the 2018 Ballon d'Or #ballondor pic.twitter.com/W4trQVjT1o
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#15. Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) is our number 15 in the 2018 Ballon d'Or ranking! #ballondor
The final ranking https://t.co/i0cuwhaFnE pic.twitter.com/hh8BJYpuEg— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#14. Thibaut Courtois (Best Goalkeeper)
Thibaut Courtois (@thibautcourtois ) is 14th in our Ballon d'Or ranking! He's the best goalkeeper this year. #ballondor pic.twitter.com/BUCipvFNHC
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#13. Luis Suarez
Uruguayan forward of FC Barcelona Luis Suarez (@LuisSuarez9) is ranked 13th for the 2018 Ballon d'Or #ballondor pic.twitter.com/0un4cO0hcx
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#12. Neymar (the first time he's been ranked outside of the top 10 since 2012)
And the 12th position of the 2018 Ballon d'Or is for Neymar (@neymarjr) #ballondor pic.twitter.com/f4VyyURcHi
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#11. N’Golo Kante
It goes on with N'Golo Kanté! The French player of Chelsea is 11th in our 2018 Ballon d'Or France Football final ranking! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/9fbQ50xDCm
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#10. Harry Kane
Tottenham forward Harry Kane is ranked 10th of the #ballondor pic.twitter.com/wojUbaMrg6
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#9. Kevin de Bruyne
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is ranked 9th of the #ballondor pic.twitter.com/HaHiZnsRZE
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#8. Eden Hazard
The 8th place of the 2018 Ballon d'Or is for @hazardeden10! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/0SXKQXZ2Hv
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#7. Raphael Varane
French defender of Real Madrid Raphaël Varane (@raphaelvarane) is 7th in our Ballon d'Or final ranking! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/Y8a2AFXwSp
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#6. Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah is 6th of the #ballondor pic.twitter.com/6up34Aiex3
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#5. Lionel Messi (280 points)
Lionel Messi is 5th of the #ballondor pic.twitter.com/3Q97B8nEtF
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#4. Kylian Mbappe (347 points)
Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) is 4th in the final ranking of the 2018 Ballon d'Or #ballondor pic.twitter.com/7gCa924ICg
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#3. Antoine Griezmann (414 points)
Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) is 3rd in the final ranking of the 2018 Ballon d'Or #ballondor pic.twitter.com/0qO2G3ADnK
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#2. Cristiano Ronaldo (476 points)
Winner of the 2017 Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) is 2nd this year #ballondor pic.twitter.com/QC8urW4Kae
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
#1. Luka Modric (753 points)
The 2018 Ballon d'Or is Luka Modric (@lukamodric10)! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/2W0JGJpisn
— #ballondor (@francefootball) December 3, 2018
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