First female winner of Ballon d'Or asked to '˜twerk' on stage
Modric won the Champions League with Real Madrid and then guided Croatia to the World Cup final in July. He was voted player of the tournament.
“As a kid we have dreams. My dream was to play for a big club and win important trophies,” said Modric, above. “The Ballon d’Or was more than a dream for me and it is an honour and a privilege to hold this trophy.”
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Hide AdRonaldo came second in the polling, missing out on a record sixth award, followed by France forward Antoine Griezmann. France’s teen star Kylian Mbappe was fourth, with Messi fifth. Brazilian Neymar, third last year, was 12th despite a domestic treble with Paris Saint-Germain.
Lyon’s Ada Hegerberg was crowned the first ever female Ballon d’Or winner but the moment became shrouded in controversy when French DJ Martin Solveig – who was helping host the gala alongside David Ginola – asked the Norwegian to “twerk”. Hegerberg refused and quickly left the stage.