3. Croatian midfielder Luka Modric won the FIFA Best Player of the Year award

Croatian midfielder Luka Modric won the FIFA Best Player of the Year award on September 24 and the Ballon d'Or award on December 3, opening a new chapter in the history of the two awards, which have been shared by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the past decade. The 33-year-old helped Real Madrid to win an unprecedented third consecutive UEFA Champions League title and spearheaded Croatia into the World Cup final for the first time in the country's history in Russia, lifting the tournament's Golden Ball.