The 2018 Ballon d'Or was the 63rd annual award ceremony recognising the best
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
in the world for 2018. The winners were announced on 3 December 2018, and for the first time in its history, the
Ballon d'Or Féminin
The Ballon d'Or Féminin (), also known as the Women's Ballon d'Or, is an association football award presented by '' France Football'' that honours the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. It was first awarded in 20 ...
and
Kopa Trophy
The Kopa Trophy is an association football award presented to the best performing player under the age of 21. It is organised by ''France Football.''
The award is named after former French footballer Raymond Kopa and the winner is selected by fo ...
were awarded to the best female footballer and male under-21 footballer, respectively.
Luka Modrić
Luka Modrić (; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Croatia national team. He plays mainly as a central midfielder, but can also play as an a ...
, who was integral to
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
's surprise journey to the
2018 FIFA World Cup Final, was awarded the
Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Pl ...
. His win meant that it was the first time since
Kaká in
2007 that a player other than
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
and
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
won the award, ending the 10-year
Messi–Ronaldo dominance.
Ballon d'Or
The nominees for the awards were announced on 9 October 2018.
Ballon d'Or Féminin
Kopa Trophy
References
{{Kopa Trophy
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
2018 in association football
2018 sports awards