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Luka Modric is FIFA’s player of the year

Real Madrid and Croatian team midfielder Luka Modric arrives for the Best FIFA Football Awards 2018 in London, Great Britain on Sept. 24.
(Facundo Arrizabalaga / EPA)
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Luka Modric broke a decade of award dominance by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in being crowned soccer player of the year by FIFA on Monday.

Modric, 33, won the Champions League for a fourth time in five seasons with Real Madrid and led Croatia to its first World Cup final.

Messi and Ronaldo were the only winners since 2008, both winning five titles each. Ronaldo was runner-up.

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Marta won her sixth player-of-the-year award and first since 2010, after leading Brazil to Copa America Femenina glory. Didier Deschamps was voted manager of the year after becoming only the third man to win the World Cup as a player and coach.

Players selected to the team of the year: goalkeeper David De Gea (Spain, Manchester United); defenders Dani Alves (Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain), Raphael Varane (France, Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Spain, Real Madrid) and Marcelo (Brazil, Real Madrid); midfielders Modric, N’Golo Kante (France, Chelsea) and Eden Hazard (Belgium, Chelsea); and forwards Kylian Mbappe (France, PSG), Messi (Argentina, Barcelona) and Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid).

A woman will win the most prestigious individual trophy in soccer for the first time this year. The Ballon d’Or, awarded by France Football magazine, will be given to both a woman and a man Dec. 3 in Paris.

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