2018 Ballon d’Or: Modric slams Ronaldo, Messi; names two best players in the world

2018 Ballon d’Or winner, Luka Modric has slammed Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona ace, Lionel Messi for not attending this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Modric ended Messi and Ronaldo’s 10-year stronghold on the award.

After helping Real Madrid win the Champions League, the Croatian also helped his nation reach a World Cup final.

These achievements helped him secure the prestigious award with Ronaldo finishing second and Antoine Griezmann third.

Neither Messi nor Ronaldo attended the ceremony in Paris when the Croatian picked up the Ballon d’Or earlier this month.

“I cannot say why someone did not attend – that’s their choice,” Modric told Sportske Novosti.

“That is logical, is it not? It turns out these choice and trophies only have value when they [Ronaldo and Messi] 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.”

While Modric announced his disappointment at Ronaldo and Messi for choosing to shun the award ceremony, he admitted that they both are still the best two players in the world.

“Here we are talking about seasonal performance,” Modric added.

“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.”