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What's the story?
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has hit out at five-time Ballon d'Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for skipping the gala that saw the Croatian break the duo's decade-long duopoly over the award.
In case you didn't know...
The year capped off incredibly well for Modric as the Croatian took home the treble of individual awards - the UEFA Best Player of the Year award, the Best FIFA Men's Player award and the prestigious Ballon d'Or.
The midfielder was recognised for helping Los Blancos to their third consecutive UEFA Champions League title and leading his home country to the first FIFA World Cup final in their history.
While the best in football gathered at the ceremony in Paris on December 3, former teammate Ronaldo and Barcelona ace Messi were nowhere to be seen.
The heart of the matter
The Croatian has now spoken about the duo's ceremony snub in an interview with Sportske Novosti, saying it is not fair to other players as well as the voters who nominated them.
Modric said, "I cannot say why someone did not attend – that’s their choice."
"That is logical, is it not? It turns out these choices and trophies only have value when they get them."
"It is not fair to their playing colleagues, or to the voters who have nominated them for the past 10 years – nor for football or supporters."
"But I repeat, everyone behaves the way they think they need to."
The World Cup finalist added, "Here we are talking about seasonal performance, and it probably means that all the coaches, players, football legends and journalists have voted the same."
"Or are they all mistaken at the same time?"
"If we vote on the quality of the player, then the only thing left is to distribute all the trophies for Messi and Ronaldo as long as they are actively playing and to abandon any vote."
What's next?
The ceremony snub has undoubtedly caused controversy but it was deemed to be expected as it has taken place during the FIFA Best Awards as well.
Modric's Real Madrid will next face Kashima Antlers in the Club World Cup on Wednesday.
