Luka Modric lands World Cup Golden Ball

A LaLiga Santander player has captured the Golden Ball at the World Cup for the fourth straight edition of the tournament. Following in the footsteps of Zinedine Zidane in 2006, Diego Forlan in 2010 and Lionel Messi in 2014, Luka Modric was recognised as Russia 2018's outstanding player.

 

Despite succumbing in the final against France, Modric still captained his country to a place in history: Croatia's runners-up finish is their best-ever result at the competition, surpassing their exploits in 1998, when they came third. What's more, the talismanic midfielder was named the Man of the Match three times in Russia thanks to his masterclasses against Nigeria, Argentina and the hosts.

Another LaLiga Santander icon, Antoine Griezmann, claimed the Bronze Ball, but that is far from the only thing that he comes away with. The Atletico Madrid attacker also picked up three Man of the Match prizes – including one from the final, in which he notched the assist for the opening goal and scored France's second – and departs with a winner's medal and three goals to his name that have now gone down in the history books.