Modric aims for double of UEFA and FIFA player of the year awards; Ronaldo to be 2nd again?

By Andrew Warshaw

September 4 – Having recently been named UEFA’s player of the year, prompting some adverse comments by Cristiano Ronaldo’s entourage, Luka Modric has been backed to end the long dominance of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when it comes to the equivalent FIFA prize that will be announced later this month at a star-studded ceremony in London.

Croatia’s captain, who helped steer his country to the semi-finals of the World Cup and Real Madrid to their third straight Champions League crown, is one of the three final nominees for this year’s FIFA award.

Significantly, Messi, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, is not even on the three-man shortlist and there is no place either for any member of France’s World Cup winning squad.

Modric, Ronaldo and Liverpool’s Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, who scored 44 goals last season, are the three finalists for 2018 in what is now known as the Best FIFA Men’s Player award, just as they were in the UEFA poll.

Lyon’s Champions League-winning duo Ada Hegerberg of Norway and Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsan are finalists for Best FIFA Women’s Player, alongside Brazil forward Marta.

Didier Deschamps, who led France to the World Cup, is nominated for coach of the year, alongside Croatia’s Zlatko Dalic and former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

The awards are now separate to the Ballon d’Or after FIFA cut ties with that honour in 2016.

Each award has a shortlist drawn up by a panel of FIFA legends and experts and will be selected by national team captains, coaches, journalists and fans, each grouping accounting for 25% of the vote.

The nominees were announced in London on Monday and Modric got the nod from all four panellists selected by FIFA to debate the shortlist.

Former Denmark and Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel said the creative midfielder deserved the prize.

“He should be the new winner,” Schmeichel told reporters. “Everyone says Ronaldo won the Champions League but don’t forget Modric won it too and his performances in the World Cup were fantastic. I fully expect him to win.”

Schmeichel, whose son Kasper is one of the nominated goalkeepers, also believes, somewhat more controversially, that Dalić should be chosen as top men’s coach over both Deschamps and Zidane, winners of the World Cup and Champions league respectively.

“He was third of the list when Croatia sacked their manager with only a few months to go before the World Cup but he’s the guy that made it all happen for them,” said Schmeichel

The nominees are as follows:

Best Men’s Player: