Luka Modrić awarded the Golden Ball for the best footballer in the world

PARIS, (Patria) - The Golden Ball awards ceremony, France Football's award for the best footballer in 2018, was held in Paris. Luka Modrić won this prestigious award. 

The prestigious award is given to the footballer considered to have performed best in the current calendar year.

He had already received several major awards earlier this year. European football's governing body UEFA awarded Modrić the award for the best footballer in Europe in August, and world governing body FIFA awarded him for the best footballer in the world in September. He was chosen by national team captains and coaches, as well as journalists and fans.

Behind Modrić were Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann. Fourth was Kylian Mbappe, while Lionel Messi finished in fifth place. Mohamed Salah was sixth, while Raphael Varane finished seventh. Eighth was Eden Hazard, and ninth was Kevin DeBruyne. Harry Kane also made it into the top 10. 

This was the 63rd time in history that the Golden Ball was awarded. Luka Modrić broke a ten-year streak in which Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi each won the award five times. The last player to win the Golden Ball before the Portuguese and Argentinian was Brazilian Kaka. Luka Modrić is the 43rd footballer to win the Golden Ball.