LONDON, Sept. 24 -- Croatian playmaker Luka Modric won the FIFA best men's player of the year award here on Monday.
The midfielder led Real Madrid to a third consecutive Champions League title before winning Golden Ball as the best player at the World Cup this year, in which Croatia reached the final for the first time.
Modric beat out former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, ending the decade-long domination of the award by Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
"This award is not just mine," Modric said. "It is my teammates' from Real Madrid and Croatia."