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Modric has been awarded the 2018 Ballon d'Or on account of his performance for Real Madrid where he won the Champions League, as well as for a brilliant World Cup campaign with Croatia.
While it is being said that it is incredible that he has put a halt to the dominance of the geniuses Ronaldo and Messi, was the most deserving, and it's a 'victory for football', I disagree.
Yes, Modric has helped his teams in many ways, but there were others who were just as important. We can see that from what has happened after the conclusion of the World Cup.
Since Ronaldo moved from Real Madrid to Juventus, his former club has been playing abysmally. The same can be said about the Croatian national team who after their impressive run to the World Cup finals have since failed in the Nations League, as many of their first team players decided to retire after the World Cup .
Ronaldo and Messi on the other hand have been their usual phenomenal selves, scoring and assisting goals, as well as impacting games with their abilities. Ronaldo had scored many an important goal in the Champions League last season, finishing with 15 goals, 5 ahead of the nearest competitor.
His impressive goal scoring was one of the reasons why Real lifted their 3rd consecutive UCL title, and we can still see his influence if we take a look at Juventus.
Messi on the other hand had a fantastic domestic campaign, after which he won the golden boot for scoring the most number of goals. Snubbing these once in a lifetime geniuses for a player who had a better World Cup campaign wasn't the right way to bestow one of the most coveted personal awards.
Many will argue that the goal scoring stats shouldn't be used to compare since Modric is a midfielder, but we should rather measure the impact he had on games. Yes he had a great World Cup where he helped his team defeat Argentina, aside that, there was no other game he impacted single-handed.
If the World Cup was the point of consideration, there were better players like Hazard, Griezmann, and Mbappe who played great football in the tournament. Also now that the Ballon d'Or committee has started considering team performance over player stats, players such as Wesley Sneijder, Andres Iniesta, Ribery, Xavi, etc, would feel hard done by.
With the award comes several doubts, one of which is the fact that we are neglecting the genius of Ronaldo and Messi because we expect them to play on top gear and smash every record. Aside Messi and Ronaldo, not many players can score 50+ goals a season, and even if they did, it would be something for them to cherish for a lifetime.
While many may welcome the decision with open arms, I can't help but be a tad cynical. Years ago, Wesley Sneijder who won the treble as well as reached the World Cup final was overlooked, but today a player who had a bad domestic campaign along with not ticking the stats bar won the award. Considering these facts, I feel my cynicism is justified.
