Luka Modric has won the FIFA men's player of the year award, beating Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo.
For the 33-year-old midfielder, the prize caps a remarkable 12 months which saw him play an integral role in Real Madrid's third straight Champions League victory and then lead Croatia to their first ever World Cup final.
In his speech, the former Spurs maestro thanked his teammates and family in English, Spanish and Croatian, and said he was proud to receive this prize in front of FIFA's deputy general secretary Zvonimir Boban, a star of Croatia's 1998 World Cup side.
Modric's win breaks the Lionel Messi-Ronaldo duopoly of the last 10 years and it follows his player of the tournament prize at Russia 2018 and UEFA player of the year accolade last month.
Congratulations, Luka Modric 👑
— #TheBest (@FIFAcom) September 24, 2018
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Men's Player 2018 🏆#FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/D489MswXug
"It's a great honour and a beautiful feeling to stand here with this amazing trophy," he said.
"First of all, I would like to give congratulations to Mohamed [Salah] and Cristiano [Ronaldo] for the great season that they've had and I'm sure in the future they will have another opportunity to fight for this trophy.
Republic of Ireland captain Séamus Coleman voted for Modric as his number one choice, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, while manager Martin O’Neill picked the Barcelona star as his choice of Player of the Year.
O’Neill selected Ronaldo in second with Liverpool’s Mo Salah in third.
