‘Modric takes the Ballon d’Or away’: Spanish press is ready for the gala

The France Football awards ceremony will take place in Paris on Monday night. Nothing has been confirmed yet, however, the multiple reports claim it is going to be Real Madrid star midfielder Luka Modric who will scoop the prestigious Ballon d’Or and become the first player in a decade to break Messi and Ronaldo duopoly.

That’s what Monday’s edition of the main Spanish newspaper Marca is about. The headline read: ‘…and Modric takes the Ballon d’Or from them. In 2007, Kaka was the last player to win the Ballon d’Or before Messi & Cristiano. Tonight, Luka Modric will be the first to win it after a vicious competition between Messi and Cristiano which lasted 10 consecutive years. Luka will also be the first Croatian to win it. ‘

According to Marca, Modric will be accompanied by his family and Real Madrid delegation formed of the president, Florentino Perez, the captain, Sergio Ramos, and the ambassadors, Roberto Carlos and Raul Gonzalez. The Croatian is widely considered to be the main favourite to win the Ballon d’Or because of his historical achievements – Champions League win and World Cup final.

Moreover, Modric has already won a set of the individual prizes: the World Cup’s Ballon d’Or, the UEFA Best Player of the Year, FIFA The Best. He beat former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to win the latter two awards, much to the annoyance of the Portuguese who even skipped the ceremony. By the way, it’s highly likely the Juventus star won’t attend Monday’s gala either.

We shouldn’t forget that Real Madrid have a total of EIGHT players nominated for the most prestigious individual award in football: Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Marcelo, Isco, Thibaut Courtois, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. With that, they are the best-represented team on a 30-man list made by France Football.

?⚽ The winner of the 2018 Ballon d’Or will be announced tomorrow!