{"id":298239,"date":"2023-12-03T09:24:52","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T09:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=298239"},"modified":"2023-12-03T09:24:52","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T09:24:52","slug":"on-this-day-in-2018-luka-modric-wins-ballon-dor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/on-this-day-in-2018-luka-modric-wins-ballon-dor\/","title":{"rendered":"On This Day in 2018: Luka Modric wins Ballon d\u2019Or"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Luka Modric won the Ballon d\u2019Or on this day in 2018, marking the first time since 2007 the award did not go to either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.<\/p>\n

The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder broke the stranglehold placed on France Football\u2019s prestigious award by Messi and Ronaldo in the previous decade at a ceremony in Paris.<\/p>\n

Argentina forward Messi and former Real team-mate Ronaldo and had each won the Ballon d\u2019Or on five occasions since Brazilian Kaka did so in 2007.<\/p>\n

In his acceptance speech, Modric said: \u201cIt\u2019s a unique feeling. I am happy, proud and honoured. I have sensational emotions at the moment that are really hard to describe in words.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, I would like to thank my team-mates and coaches at Real Madrid and all the people who work for Real Madrid, all my coaches and team-mates with the national team, all those who voted for me and of course, my family, my wife and kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are fulfilling me as a person and helping me in all aspects to be successful as a professional.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a kid, we all have dreams. My dream was to play for a big club, to win important trophies. I dreamed about it, but the Ballon d\u2019Or was more than a childhood dream for me and it\u2019s a real honour and a privilege to hold this trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bq8jPSfHY9f<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Modric\u2019s recognition was reward for a fine 12 months during which he helped his club lift the Champions League for the third successive season\u00a0before playing a key role in Croatia\u2019s surge to the 2018 World Cup final.<\/p>\n

He won the Golden Ball for his contribution in Russia and was named the Best FIFA Footballer of the Year, and was the first Croatian to claim the Ballon d\u2019Or.<\/p>\n

Modric, now 38, is still playing for Real Madrid and helped his country to the World Cup semi-finals last year in Qatar.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sign up to Miguel Delaney\u2019s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel\u2019s Delaney\u2019s free weekly newsletter Thanks for signing up to the Football email Luka Modric won the Ballon d\u2019Or on this day in 2018, marking the first time since 2007 the award did not go to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nOn This Day in 2018: Luka Modric wins Ballon d\u2019Or - Sports Life Tale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/on-this-day-in-2018-luka-modric-wins-ballon-dor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On This Day in 2018: Luka Modric wins Ballon d\u2019Or - 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