Ten years. That’s how long it lasted. Between 2008 and 2017, the Ballon d'Or wasn't really a race; it was a private conversation between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. They just passed the golden ball back and forth like a pair of kids playing keep-away in a schoolyard. Then came the 2018 Ballon d'Or. Everything changed that night in Paris at the Grand Palais. When Luka Modric’s name was called, it didn’t just signify a new winner. It felt like a glitch in the Matrix.
People were genuinely shocked.
Actually, let’s be honest—some people were furious. If you look at the raw stats, Modric had three goals and eleven assists for the entire calendar year. Compare that to Messi’s 51 goals or Ronaldo’s Champions League heroics, and the math looks broken. But football isn't played on a spreadsheet. The 2018 award was a statement about what we value in the beautiful game. It was a victory for the "pre-assist," for the player who dictates the tempo, and for the guy who runs until his lungs feel like they're on fire.
The Summer That Defined the 2018 Ballon d'Or
You can't talk about this award without talking about Russia. The World Cup is the ultimate kingmaker. In 2018, Luka Modric didn't just play well; he dragged a nation of four million people to a World Cup Final. Croatia wasn't supposed to be there. They played three consecutive extra-time matches. Modric played 694 minutes across the tournament, more than any other player.
He was 32.
He was tiny.
But he was everywhere. While Messi and Argentina were crumbling against France and Ronaldo was bowing out to Uruguay, Modric was orchestrating masterpieces against Nigeria, Argentina (where he scored a screamer), and England. He won the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. That was the moment the momentum shifted. Suddenly, the narrative wasn't about who scored the most tap-ins or penalties. It was about who had the most profound impact on the soul of their team.
Real Madrid and the Third Consecutive UCL
While the World Cup was the clincher, we shouldn't forget what happened in Kiev. Real Madrid won their third straight Champions League title in May 2018. It was an unprecedented feat in the modern era. While Ronaldo grabbed the headlines with that overhead kick against Juventus earlier in the tournament, Modric was the heartbeat of that midfield. Alongside Toni Kroos and Casemiro, he formed a trio that basically told the rest of Europe, "You can't have the ball."
That’s the thing about the 2018 Ballon d'Or—it rewarded the "process" of winning.
✨ Don't miss: Red Sox vs Yankees: What Most People Get Wrong About Baseball's Biggest Feud
The Great Snub: Why Messi Finished Fifth
This is the part that still makes Barcelona fans see red. Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest to ever lace them up, finished fifth in the 2018 voting. Fifth! Behind Modric, Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann, and Kylian Mbappé.
It felt like a prank.
In 2018, Messi won La Liga and the Copa del Rey. He won the European Golden Shoe. He was statistically the best dribbler, the best passer, and the best finisher on the planet. So why did he drop so low? Two words: Rome and Kazan. Barcelona’s humiliating collapse against Roma in the Champions League and Argentina’s chaotic exit from the World Cup created a "failure" narrative that overshadowed his individual brilliance.
The voters—a group of 180 journalists from around the world—clearly decided that trophies mattered more than heat maps. It’s a controversial stance. If the Ballon d'Or is for the "best" player, Messi probably should have won. If it’s for the "most successful" player of the year, the 2018 Ballon d'Or belonged to someone else.
The French Frustration
Antoine Griezmann had a legitimate gripe too. He won the World Cup. He won the Europa League. He scored in the final. He literally did everything a player is asked to do to win individual honors.
"I won three trophies, I was important in the big moments," Griezmann said at the time, sounding kinda salty but also kinda right.
Then you had Kylian Mbappé, the teenager who looked like he was playing against toddlers during the World Cup. He took home the inaugural Kopa Trophy for the best U21 player, but even his electric pace wasn't enough to jump over Modric. The French vote was split. When you have three or four Frenchmen all having "ballon d'Or seasons," they end up stealing points from each other. Modric had the "Croatia effect"—he was the undisputed face of a miracle run.
Breaking the "Alien" Era
We should probably mention the numbers just to show how weird this was. From 2008 to 2017, the winner usually averaged around 50 goals a year. Modric won it with a handful.
🔗 Read more: OU Football Depth Chart 2025: Why Most Fans Are Getting the Roster Wrong
It was a vibes-based victory.
He won because he was the guy you'd want on your team when you're 1-0 down in the 80th minute. He's the guy who stays calm when the stadium is screaming. He’s the "midfielder’s midfielder." Even Zinedine Zidane, who knows a thing or two about being a world-class playmaker, once told Modric he could win the Ballon d'Or if he just believed it.
The 2018 Ballon d'Or results were:
- Luka Modric (753 points)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (476 points)
- Antoine Griezmann (414 points)
- Kylian Mbappé (347 points)
- Lionel Messi (280 points)
Look at that gap! Modric didn't just squeak by. He won by nearly 300 points. The football world was collectively exhausted by the Messi-Ronaldo dominance and was looking for any excuse to crown a new king. Modric provided the perfect excuse.
Was it a "True" Ballon d'Or?
Some critics call 2018 a "legacy" award or a "sympathy" vote. They say it was a way to honor a great career rather than the best year. I think that's cynical. If you actually watch the full 90 minutes of the 2018 Champions League final or the World Cup semi-final against England, you see a player who is operating on a different intellectual level than everyone else on the pitch.
Modric was the architect.
He covered 12 kilometers a game.
He was the personification of "footballing IQ."
💡 You might also like: NL Rookie of the Year 2025: Why Drake Baldwin Actually Deserved the Hardware
If we only give the award to the person with the most goals, we should just rename it the "Golden Boot" and go home. The 2018 Ballon d'Or saved the award from becoming a boring accounting exercise. It reminded us that the guy who passes the ball to the guy who gets the assist is sometimes the most important person on the field.
The Aftermath and the Return to Normalcy
Of course, the "break" didn't last long. Messi came back and won it in 2019. Then again in 2021. Then again in 2023. The "Alien" era resumed its regularly scheduled programming almost immediately. But that one year stands out. It stands out because it felt human.
When Modric held that trophy, he dedicated it to all the players who deserved it during the Messi-Ronaldo decade but never got it. He mentioned Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Wesley Sneijder. It was a victory for the "silent" superstars.
The 2018 Ballon d'Or also marked a shift in how fans discuss the game. It sparked the "Twitter Wars" between stat-obsessed fans and "eye-test" fans. You know the ones. One side posts a graph of expected goals (xG), and the other side posts a 2-minute clip of a player escaping a press with a shimmy. Neither side is entirely wrong, but the 2018 ceremony was a massive win for the eye-test crowd.
How to Appreciate the 2018 Results Today
If you want to understand why this happened, don't look at the goals. Go to YouTube and watch a "Luka Modric vs England 2018" highlights reel. Watch how he refuses to lose the ball. Watch the outside-of-the-boot passes (the "Trivela") that look like they shouldn't be physically possible.
The 2018 Ballon d'Or was about the beauty of the struggle.
It was about a kid who grew up in a war-torn country, practicing his footwork in a parking lot while grenades were going off in the distance, eventually becoming the best in the world. It’s a movie script. And sometimes, the voters want to reward a good story.
If you’re looking to settle a debate with your friends about whether Modric deserved it, consider these three things:
- Consistency across competitions: He excelled in both the toughest club competition (UCL) and the biggest international one (World Cup).
- Leadership: He was the captain and heartbeat of an underdog nation.
- Clarity of Role: He was the best in the world at his specific job (playmaking), even if his job wasn't to score.
Practical Steps for Football Fans
To really get a grip on the historical context of that year, you should check out the long-form interviews Modric gave after the ceremony. He’s surprisingly humble. He basically admitted he didn't think he was "better" than Messi, just that he had a "better year." That’s a crucial distinction.
- Watch the Documentary: Look for "Croatia: Defining a Nation" to see the cultural weight behind Modric's 2018 run.
- Review the Voting: Look at the regional breakdown. You'll see that Modric won votes from almost every continent, proving his appeal was global, not just a European bias.
- Compare with 2010: Compare Modric’s win to 2010, when Wesley Sneijder won the Treble and reached a World Cup final but didn't even make the top three. It helps you see how the criteria for the Ballon d'Or shift every few years depending on the "vibe" of the sport.
The 2018 Ballon d'Or remains a lighthouse for players who don't fit the "prolific goalscorer" mold. It proves that if you’re good enough, and you win enough, the world will eventually have to look past the stats and see the player.