The Best FIFA Football Awards: Modric beats Ronaldo to scoop the award
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| Luka Modric |
Luka Modric was named Best Fifa Men’s Footballer of the Year at a ceremony in London, beating Mohamed Salah and an absent Cristiano Ronaldo to the top prize.
Ronaldo had won the award for the last two years, but Modric’s exceptional 2017/18 season was deemed to have surpassed the Portuguese’s dominance.
The 33-year-old Croatian won his third Champions League trophy with Real Madrid in May and led his national side to their first World Cup final in Russia, where he was awarded the Golden Ball for his outstanding individual performance.
Fifa’s team of the year, the Fifpro World XI, were David de Gea, Dani Alves, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, N’Golo Kante, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe, and Ronaldo.
Meanwhile, Salah was handed a consolation prize for his record-breaking season with Liverpool, taking home the Fifa Puskas award for his goal in the Merseyside derby.
Other winners included Thibaut Courtois for Best Goalkeeper, Brazilian and Orlando Pride player Marta was named Best Women’s Player.
Best Men’s Coach went to French national team coach Didier Deschamps, and Reynald Pedros won the Best Women’s Coach award for his work leading Lyon to their fifth Champions League title. The Fifa Fan Award went to Peru’s supporters after the country appeared at a World Cup for the first time in 36 years with Germany’s Lennart Thy winning the Fifa Fair Play Award