Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane told Luka Modric he was a player capable of winning the Ballon d'Or, giving the Croatian confidence to go on and win the award.
Zidane provided the inspiration to Modric when he was appointed Los Blancos coach in 2016 and the midfield star went on to lift the famous individual award at the end of 2018.
In that year, Modric was part of the Madrid team to win a third successive Champions League, while also spearheading Croatia to a first-ever World Cup final in Russia.