Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric has won the 2018 Ballon d'Or, breaking a decade-long hold on the prestigious award by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Modric, 33, helped Real win a third successive Champions League title in May and captained Croatia to their first World Cup final, being named player of the tournament, despite his side losing 4-2 to France.
The award, voted for by journalists and organised by French magazine France Football, has been dominated by Messi and Ronaldo since 2008.
The last player to lift the award apart from the Argentine and Portuguese, who have won it a joint-record five times each, was Kaka in 2007, when the Brazilian played for AC Milan.
Ronaldo was second, with France star Antoine Griezmann third and national teammate Kylian Mpbappe fourth, with Messi rounding out the top five.
Modric had already dislodged Ronaldo as the FIFA World Player of the Year in September. He is the first Croatian to win the Ballon d'Or, since it was initiated as a European award in 1956.
A women's Ballon d'Or was also presented for the first time and was won by Norwegian striker Ada Hegerberg, with Australian Matildas star Sam Kerr fifth.
Reuters
