Sports

Luka Modric named UEFA player of year

Published

6 years ago

August 30, 2018

Luka Modric of Real Madrid and Croatia on Thursday received the accolade of UEFA Player of the Year in Monaco after his Champions League exploits .
“ My father always pushed me to fight for my dreams , I owe him a lot for everything , ” said Modric , whose silky midfield skills helped Real to a third straight European crown and then propelled Croatia to the World Cup final .

“ It ’ s an incredible moment for me , I feel really excited and proud of this great award , ” said the 32 – year -old , who started out at Dinamo Zagreb and then had four years with Tottenham before Real prised him away six years ago .

Modric , whose success sets him up as a favourite to win the Ballon d ’ Or world player of the year accolade , saw off former Real teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool ’ s Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah for the overall award .

Real Madrid ’ s achievement in winning the Champions League for the third season running was further recognised as Modric also won the UEFA award for the best midfielder of last season .

His clubmate Sergio Ramos was named best defender while Real shot stopper Keylor Navas won the best goalkeeper prize .

Ronaldo , who did not appear at the ceremony , was awarded the award for best striker chosen by Champions League and Europa League coaches from last season and journalists .

The award “ recognises the best players , irrespective of nationality , playing for a club within the territory of a UEFA member association during the past season . Players are judged on their performances in all competitions – domestic , continental and international ” .

Danish international Pernille Harder, of German club Wolfsburg , won the UEFA women ’ s player of the year prize .

Wolfsburg lost to dominant French outfit Lyon in the Champions League final in Kiev in May .

There was also an award for David Beckham , the former Manchester United , Real Madrid and England star collecting the UEFA President ’ s Award for his achievements in the game and his work since retiring as a player .