The former Spurs playmaker, now at Real Madrid, has become the first player other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d’Or since 2007.
It had to happen someday. The Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly on the Ballon d’Or has finally been broken.
On Monday evening, Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric became the first player other than Messi and Ronaldo to win the accolade since Brazil forward Kaka in 2007.
Modric has enjoyed a superb 2018, winning his third successive Champions League trophy with Los Blancos in May before helping his nation to a first ever World Cup final.
This year, the 33-year-old was also named the world’s top male player at the Best FIFA Football Awards and received the Golden Ball award for the best player at the World Cup.
Modric’s triumphant 2018, culminating in this month’s Ballon d’Or win, has been a source of immense pride for many Tottenham Hotspur fans.
The Croatian joined the north Londoners in 2008 from Dinamo Zagreb for a fee of £16.5million, then a joint club record shared with Darren Bent’s transfer from Charlton.
Despite a slow start, Modric soon became a fan favourite at White Hart Lane, going from strength to strength for the Lilywhites.
By the time he departed for Real in 2012, Modric had made 160 appearances for Spurs, scoring 17 goals, claiming 27 assists, and delighting fans with his slick style of play.
Following the Ballon d’Or announcement, many Tottenham fans could not help but reminisce about a player often deemed the best they had ever seen in a Lilywhites shirt:
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