49erssports.com - The Ballon d'Or award has always been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for more than a decade. Precisely since 2008.
Alternately, Ronaldo and Messi are always voted as the world's best players. Thus, both of them dominate the list of award winners.
However, in 2018, that dominance was broken by Luka Modric. He got rid of some big names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann.
The Croatian national team captain also beat Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, to Mohamed Salah. As well as Raphael Varane, Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Harry Kane.
So, what will happen to Luka Modric and the players who entered the top 10 of the 2018 Ballon d'Or?
Harry Kane
In the 2018 Ballon d'Or award, Harry Kane was ranked 10th. The Tottenham Hotspur star only pocketed 25 points from the voting results.
It was Harry Kane's last time in the top 10 of the Ballon d'Or. Because, in the last two seasons, namely in 2019 and 2021, his name was not on the list.
Harry Kane has been nominated for the 2022 Ballon d'Or award again. He represents Tottenham Hotspur with Son Heung-min.
Kevin de Bruyne
Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne got 29 points in the 2018 Ballon d'Or voting. He also occupies the ninth position in the top 10 list.
Kevin de Bruyne's success in the top 10 because of his success in helping Manchester City attack. He scored 12 goals and 21 assists.
This year, Kevin de Bruyne was again nominated along with 5 other Manchester City players. He is a strong candidate to handle the golden ball trophy.
Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard was included in the list of the top 10 Ballon d'Or 2018, when he was still in Chelsea uniform. Unfortunately, this year his name was not included in the nomination.
Yes, Eden Hazard has indeed experienced a decline in performance in the last 3 years. Last season, he only scored 1 goal and 2 assists with Real Madrid.
In the list of the top 10 Ballon d'Or 2018, Eden Hazard occupies the seventh position. The Belgian player got 119 points.
Raphael Varane
Raphael Varane also enlivened the list of the top 10 Ballon d'Or 2018. He is ranked sixth by collecting 121 points.
At that time, he was a mainstay defender of Real Madrid with a number of awards he had won. He also led France to win the 2018 World Cup.
However, Raphael Varane's name was not included in the nomination for the 2022 Ballon d'Or recipient. Now, he has also become part of Manchester United.
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool's mainstay striker, Mohamed Salah has always been in the top 10 of the Ballon d'Or in the last 3 titles. Including in 2018.
In 2018, Mohamed Salah took 6th place. He has 188 points, more than 60 points ahead of Raphael Varane.
Mohamed Salah is again nominated for the 2022 Ballon d'Or. He became the Premier League's top scorer last year with 23 goals.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi was only able to penetrate the fifth position in the top 10 of the 2018 Ballon d'Or. The Argentine national team star collected 280 points.
It was the worst position for Lionel Messi. Because, the player who is now defending Paris Saint-Germain usually occupies the first or second position.
However, Lionel Messi is surprisingly not included in the nominations for the 2022 Ballon d'Or recipient. In fact, he won it in 2019 and 2021.
Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe was able to penetrate the fourth position in the top 10 of the 2018 Ballon d'Or. The Paris Saint-Germain player collected a total of 347 points.
Kylian Mbappe is often the favorite to win the award. However, he always loses the competition.
This year, Kylian Mbappe has been nominated again. However, he became the only representative of Paris Saint-Germain.
Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann finished third in the 2018 Ballon d'Or top 10. That's thanks to his slick performance with Atletico Madrid in the 2017/18 season.
Griezmann has 29 goals and 15 assists in all competitions. He also led Atletico Madrid to win the Europa League.
As his performance declines, Antoine Griezmann is absent in the hunt for the golden ball award this year. He was not on the nomination list.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has always been the favorite to win the Ballon d'Or. Including in the 2018 edition when he was in Juventus uniform.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo was only able to occupy the second position. He also had to give up the award for his former teammate because he only collected 478 points.
Cristiano Ronaldo is back on the list of nominees for the 2022 Ballon d'Or even though he is no longer a favourite. He became the only representative of Manchester United.
Luka Modric
Real Madrid won the 2018 Ballon d'Or after collecting 753 points. He beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann who were his toughest competitors.
Luka Modric was selected for his performances with Real Madrid and the Croatian national team. He led his country to become runners-up at the 2018 World Cup.
This year, Luka Modric is again included in the nomination list along with other Real Madrid players. Although it is difficult to repeat his success in 2018.