🎥 Five moments that won Luka Modrić the Ballon d'Or | OneFootball

On Monday evening Luka Modrić scooped the 2018 Ballon d’Or, completing a hat-trick of accolades following his Uefa Men’s Player of the Year and The Best Fifa Men’s Player awards.

The 33-year-old broke the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo hegemony over world football’s most prestigious individual prize and became the first Croatian player in history to pick up the gong.

Here are five reasons he won it …

5. Golazo against Deportivo

Modrić’s first Real Madrid goal of the 2017/18 season didn’t arrive until 21 January 2018, but it was worth the wait.

After being teed up by Ronaldo, he curled home a beautiful strike in a 7-1 victory over Deportivo de La Coruña.

He would end the season with just two goals in all competitions.

4. The Champions League final

Modrić helped Madrid to a third successive Champions League crown with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool in Kiev in May, and his performance was the ultimate midfield masterclass.

He ended up being named in the Champions League team of the season for the third consecutive time, and later won the Uefa Club Football Award for Best Midfielder of the Champions League season for the second time in a row.

3. The penalty shoot-out against Denmark

The 2018 World Cup was an amazing point in Modrić’s career but it could have been a very different story.

Croatia faced Denmark in the round of 16 in what was their first knock-out tie since 1998. In the second half of extra-time, Modrić had the chance to win the game from the penalty spot but his poor effort was saved by Kasper Schmeichel.

A lesser man might have retreated into his shell after a moment like that but Modrić stepped up again in the penalty shootout and he made no mistake the second time around.

2. That goal against Argentina

The meeting between Modrić’s Croatia and Messi’s Argentina was one of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures of the World Cup group stages, and it didn’t disappoint.

That was largely thanks to a certain midfielder lighting it up with one of the goals of the tournament.

With 10 minutes remaining and Croatia leading 1-0, Modrić flummoxed Nicolás Otamendi with a drop of the shoulder before firing home beautifully from 25-yards.

It proved to be his only goal from open play at the World Cup but what a goal it was.

1. The Golden Ball

Despite ending up on the losing side to France in the final, Modrić was named the World Cup’s best player and it was an honour he richly deserved.

He captained Croatia to the nation’s first ever World Cup final with a series of displays full of not just class but great courage too.

If you’re still not convinced that he deserved the Ballon d’Or this year, this compilation of his best bits in Russia might just change your mind.