Luka Modrić: Champions League Midfielder of the Season
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Article summary
Luka Modrić has added the UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season award to his personal trophy collection.
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UEFA Men's Player of the Year Luka Modrić has also retained his UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season crown.
Modrić picked up this latest accolade on stage in Monaco during the 2018/19 group stage draw. It seals a memorable time for the 32-year-old, who has enjoyed an especially productive last few months. Already a newly crowned European champion with Real Madrid, in July he collected the FIFA Golden Ball for best player at this summer's World Cup, having helped Croatia to their first ever final.
Midfielder of the Season top ten
1 Luka Modrić (Real Madrid) – 347 points
2 Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 114 points
3 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) – 69 points
4 Casemiro (Real Madrid) – 40 points
5 James Milner (Liverpool) – 18 points
6 Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona, now Vissel Kobe) – 16 points
7 Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona) – 9 points
8= Isco (Real Madrid), Sadio Mané (Liverpool), Miralem Pjanić (Juventus), James Rodríguez (Bayern) – 6 points
Modrić's season in numbers
Honours: UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, FIFA World Cup runner-up
Individual accolades: UEFA Men's Player of the Year, UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season, FIFA Golden Ball, UEFA.com Fans' Team of the Year 2017, UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season
Champions League
Appearances: 11
Minutes: 958
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Modrić testimonials
"Is he the best midfield player in the world right now? That performance today was stunning. He receives the ball in tight areas, he gets pressed by three or four people, but he's so calm, collected and cool under pressure."
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard after the UEFA Champions League final
"He is a player who has a very different talent, he improves anyone who is around him. It shows when he is not on the field – Madrid are a different team without Luka."
Croatia team-mate Ivan Rakitić
How Modrić was chosen
These awards were introduced last year to recognise the season's best player in each position in Europe's premier club competition. The jury comprised the coaches of the 32 clubs in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, representing each of UEFA's member associations. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams.
Jury members chose their top three players per position, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. The three players who got the most points in each category made up the final shortlist.