Back to the Soccer Newsfeed

Guillem Balague reacts as Lionel Messi finishes in fifth place at the Ballon d’Or

Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric emerged the winner of the 2018 Ballon d’Or last night, bringing the decade-long reign of legendary duo Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – who picked up five apiece – to an end.

The Juventus striker finished in second place – 277 points behind his former Bernabeu teammate – while the Barcelona star finished at fifth place – behind Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe.

France World Cup heroics saw the French duo make the top-five, while Madrid’s Champions League victory (alongside a place in the World Cup final for Modric) set up the top-two contenders.