5 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo will not win the Ballon d'Or award this year

#3 Luka Modric

Luka Modric beat the Portuguese to claim the FIFA Player Of The Year award recently and he poses a great threat to his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or award too

There is no doubt Cristiano Ronaldo's biggest threat for the Ballon d'Or award this year remains his former teammate Luka Modric. Although the Croatian also played influential roles to help Real Madrid to their third consecutive Champions League triumph last season, it is his incredible exploits during the recently concluded FIFA World Cup that makes him a real threat to Ronaldo's chances of defending his honor as the best player in the world this term.

Modric was without doubts the best player during the tournament in Russia, producing a lot of eye-catching performances and carrying the burden of leading an under-dog nation on football biggest stage. The midfielder impressed with the role, helping Croatia to reach the final of the competition for the first time in their history as well as claiming the FIFA Golden Ball for his impressive performances.

Having already claimed a host of incredible awards this year, Modric will also be looking forward to adding the prestigious Ballon d'Or accolade to his cabinet and that could deal a serious blow to Ronaldo who is on a mission to defend the honor.