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France Football revealed of the best player in the world in 2017, as Cristiano Ronaldo was handed his 5th Ballon d'Or, during an event in French capital Paris.
The ceremony also featured the ranking of the top 30 best performers throughout the year. As always, the top 3 spots were dominated by purely attacking-minded players, such as Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar. Midfielders continue to be criminally underrated in such awards, as the press tends to give more attention for those responsible in directly scoring goals and affecting the scoreline, instead.
However, midfielders are the essence of any great side, make no mistake about that. And Real Madrid's case in the past few seasons, is the best example to support this theory.
Having said that, here are the top 5 midfielders according to the 2017 Ballon d'Or rankings.
#5 - Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, 17th):
As mentioned earlier on, Real Madrid have achieved enormous success in the past few years, namely last season, when they broke FC Barcelona's La Liga dominance as they conquered their 33rd title, before eventually wrapping up one of their best campaigns ever, by crushing Italian giants Juventus 4-1, in the UEFA Champions League final.
The reigning champions of Europe have enjoyed great success, by adding the UEFA Super Cup after beating Manchester United 2-1, as well as the Spanish Super Cup, following two large victories over arch-rivals, Barça.
When Xabi Alonso left the club in 2014, many thought that Real Madrid would fail to replace him, the way they struggled following the departure of French holding midfielder Claude Makélélé. They could not have been more wrong, as Toni Kroos joined the Spanish giants, highlighting his technical quality week in week out.
Kroos' pass success in the Spanish league is at an impressive 92%, as he averages 79 successful passes per game. With two goals and an assist already, his offensive quality could not be highlighted any better, for a player in his position.
#4 - Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, 14th):
Kevin de Bruyne's transfer to Manchester City has generally been extremely successful, but with the arrival of Spanish tactician Pep Guardiola to town, the Belgian's influence has only grown.
De Bruyne is responsible for initiating play and finishing off attacks, in quite possibly the most entertaining, offensive-minded side, in Europe's top five leagues this season, as the Citizens continue to cruise their way from one victory to the other.
The individual stats of the 26-year old speak for themselves. His 5 goals and 11 assists in all competitions, have been fundamental in City's success, with the evidence of leading the English Premier League by a gap of 11 points from their closest opponents, Manchester United, as well as topping their UEFA Champions League group, after outclassing Napoli over the two games.
Man City are getting better and better each week, and if they manage to maintain this high level of intensity, then they could well be heading towards the double. Their round of 16 tie against FC Basel in Europe, is considered a very favorable one - and quite possibly an open path to the quarter finals, with all due respect to the opponent.
Beating Man United in the local derby at Old Trafford, suggests that De Bruyne and City are better than ever.
#3 - Isco (Real Madrid, 12th):
Gareth Bale has achieved enormous success in his first season at Real Madrid, after completing a mega-money swap from English Premier League side, Tottenham.
However, with the Welshman's frequent injury issues getting the best out of him, Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was under a delicate situation last season, as the club approached the decisive stages of the campaign. With Bale injured, the French manager decided to put his faith in Spanish sensation Isco. The 25-year old took matters into hands, as he occupied a more central position than his injured teammate, in what seemed to be a 4-4-2 diamond formation.
As the big games arrived, Isco was well worth his manager's faith and proved his doubters wrong, as he stood out, namely in the Champions League against FC Bayern, Atlético Madrid and Juventus.
This season, the Spain international has managed to maintain a high level of performances, having already scored 4 goals and mustered 4 assists. In the crucial World Cup qualifier against Italy, Isco pulled one of his best performances to date. The magical display earned the respect of, at that time, Italy manager Gian Piero Ventura and key player Marco Verratti, who both stated their admiration for the midfielder.
#2 - N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea, 8th):
Leicester City shocked the whole world, when they achieved the English Premier League title back in 2016, in what is considered as one of the most beautiful fairy tale stories in world football.
Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy may have received most of the individual awards during that season, but as time passes, everyone realized that the most important man in that side, was none other than N'Golo Kanté.
The French midfielder is a tireless engine who is all over the pitch, winning back possession, launching counter attacks and initiating plays. On the other hand, Chelsea were struggling against relegation in the same season where Leicester were crowned champions. Following the transfer of Kanté to the Londoners, the whole shape of the team changed, as Italian tactician Antonio Conte took charge.
Chelsea would go on and improve their ranks into a title-winning side, with N'Golo Kanté once again being the most important player in claiming league-triumph. It seems that wherever this guy goes, he lifts his teams into a much higher level. Justice was done, as the 26-year old was named the best player in England, for his consistent performances last term.
#1 - Luka Modric (5th):
Real Madrid has written history by becoming the first side to manage to win back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles, in the new edition of the competition, as they overcame Atlético Madrid and Juventus, in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
And while Cristiano Ronaldo stole most of the headlines for his magnificent goal-scoring record and individual stats, one man who was might have been just as important as the Portuguese international, is Luka Modric.
The Croatian star's importance at Real Madrid cannot be measured, and no words could do him justice. Modric does a bit of everything, from working hard in the defensive phase, to controlling the tempo of the game, as well as using his agility and close control to drive the ball forward and create spaces against deep-lying defensive blocks.
Modric's pass success in La Liga is 90%, as he completes 73.2 successful passes per game, on average. Meanwhile, his defensive stats are just as impressive with 1.3 successful tackles and 1.7 interceptions.
Is there anything that the Croatian maestro cannot do?
