The Barcelona star, Lionel Messi, for the first time since 2006 was thrown from the top three in an individual award for footballer, Ballon d’Or. This year, the 2018 Ballon d’Or title was won by Real Madrid midfielder from Croatia, Luka Modric. The second and third ranks were awarded to Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) and Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid). Frenchman Antoine Griezmann could not hide his disappointment after failing to win the 2018 Ballon d’Or individual title. “I won the Europa League, the World Cup, what else should I do? I don’t know”, Griezmaan said on the eve of the 2018 Ballon d’Or award at the Grand Palais, Paris, Monday (3/12/2018).
Meanwhile, Messi only finished fifth in the vote, behind young French and PSG striker, Kylian Mbappe. Previously, Messi, along with Ronaldo, had dominated the Ballon d’Or award in the past 10 years, with each winning five titles. This happened in the period 2008 to 2017.
On the other hand, Ada Hegerberg, the Lyon player, won the title of the best female footballer. The Norwegian striker became the top scorer of the French League for the 2017-2018 season with a record of 31 goals in 20 appearances. Hegerberg also successfully brought Lyon to the French League championship and the European Champions League that season.
Here’s a complete list of the 2018 Ballon d’Or best players:
29. Isco (Spain, Real Madrid) and Hugo Lloris (, Tottenham Hotspur)
28. Diego Godin (Uruguay, Atletico Madrid)
25. Allison Becker (Brazil, AS Roma Liverpool), Mario Mandzukic (Croatia, Juventus), and Jan Oblak (Slovenia, Atletico Madrid)
22. Sadio Mane (Senegal, Liverpool), Edinson Cavani (Uruguay, Paris Saint-Germain), and Marcelo (Brazil, Real Madrid)
19 Roberto Firmino (Brazil, Liverpool), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia, Barcelona), and Sergio Ramos (Spain, Real Madrid) 17. Gareth Bale (Wales, Real Madrid) and Karim Benzema (, Real Madrid)
16. Sergio Aguero ( Argentina, Manchester City)
15. Paul Pogba (, Manchester United)
14. Thibaut Curtois (Belgium, Chelsea, Real Madrid)
13. Luis Suarez (Uruguay, Barcelona) 12. Neymar (Brazil, Barcelona)
11. N’golo Kante (, Chelsea) 10. Harry Kane (England, Tottenham)
9. Kevin de Bruyne (Belgium, Manchester City)
8. Eden Hazard (Belgium, Chelsea)
7. Raphael Varane (, Real Madrid)
6. Mohammed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)
5. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
4. Kylian Mbappe (, Paris Saint-Germain)
3. Antoine Griezmann (, Atletico Madrid)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid, Juventus)
1. Luka Modric (Croatia, Real Madrid)
ASL
