MONACO: European football’s governing body, UEFA named Real Madrid and Croatian midfielder Luka Modric as the Men’s Player of the Year and the best Champions League Midfielder for the 2017-18 season.
With 313 points, Modric overcame competition from the likes of his former club teammate Cristiano Ronaldo (223 points) and Liverpool’s Egyptian star forward Mohamed Salah (134 points), who were the three short-listed members in the race to win the honour as per 20 August.
Modrić’s understated class was more evident than ever last season as the diminutive midfielder helped the Los Blancos to a third straight UEFA Champions League title before then guiding his country to their first FIFA World Cup final this summer. He was awarded the prestigious ‘Golden Ball’ for his performance throughout the competition.
Though the 32-year-old is neither a prolific goal-scorer nor an outright defensive shield, his dynamism and quality in possession set him apart.
“Always available to receive the ball, he is incredibly important to how the champions want to play,” said the UEFA Technical Observers when selecting Modrić in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season.
The jury comprised of the 80 coaches of the clubs that participated in the group stages of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League (32) and UEFA Europa League (48), along with 55 journalists chosen by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, representing each of UEFA’s member associations. They picked their top three players, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.
