Luka Modric has spoken about winning the Ballon d’Or in 2018, describing the achievement as particularly significant because it came during the era of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The Croatian midfielder, who now plays for Milan, reflected on the individual award after receiving it while representing Real Madrid. Modric’s comments focused on the importance of the honour and the circumstances in which he claimed it.
“Winning the Ballon d’Or in the era of Ronaldo and Messi was something special,” Modric said.
Modric won the Ballon d’Or in 2018 during his time at Real Madrid. The award recognised him as the leading individual player in world football that year and marked the most prominent personal success of his career described in the article.
At the time of his victory, Modric was part of the Real Madrid squad. He had joined the club in 2012 and remained there until 2025, representing the Spanish side for 13 years before moving on to Milan.
His Ballon d’Or success came against the backdrop of the period dominated by Ronaldo and Messi, making the achievement especially notable in Modric’s view. The Croatian’s assessment is centred on the difficulty of securing football’s most prestigious individual award while those two players were competing at the highest level.
The midfielder’s comments also place the recognition firmly within his Real Madrid career. It was with the Madrid club that Modric won the Ballon d’Or, rather than during his current spell with Milan.
Modric is now a Milan player, but the 2018 award remains the central subject of his latest remarks. His comments look back on the moment when his performances earned him the individual prize and underline the significance he attaches to having done so during the Ronaldo and Messi era.
The Croatian midfielder represented Real Madrid from 2012 to 2025. That long association with the club provided the setting for his Ballon d’Or triumph, before his move to Milan.
Although the article contains no further detail about the voting or the ceremony, Modric’s message is clear: winning the award in 2018 carried exceptional weight because of the players he regarded as defining that period of the sport.
For Modric, the Ballon d’Or victory remains linked both to his time at Real Madrid and to the presence of Ronaldo and Messi in the football landscape. His description of the achievement as “something special” reflects the importance he continues to place on the honour.
