BALLON D' OR - WINNERS UPDATE

Luka Modric: Real Madrid's Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was named winner of the 2018 Ballon d'Or on Monday, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo's and Lionel Messi's decade-long hold on the prestigious award.

Luka Modric

Modric, 33, helped Real Madrid win a third successive Champions League title in May and also captained Croatia to their first World Cup final, being named player of the tournament despite his side losing 4-2 to France.

Modric on the move

"It's a unique feeling. I'm happy proud and honored, I have a lot of emotions right now, it's hard to describe in words," said Modric, wearing a tuxedo as he collected the award from presenter.

"It’s a big pleasure to be here among all these players. I am still trying to realize that I have become part of a group of exceptional players to win the Ballon d’Or throughout history."

Modric, who joined Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 for a reported 40 million euros ($45.40 million), was criticised in his debut season at the Bernabeu and named the worst signing of the year in a poll by newspaper Marca.

Luka 10

But the diminutive playmaker began to demonstrate the quality he had shown at Spurs when Jose Mourinho deployed him in a deep lying role in Real's midfield rather than the attacking role he had been given at the start of that campaign.

Modric said the positional change, which was first suggested to him by Harry Redknapp at Tottenham, transformed his form. “The change of position helped me a lot in my career. I used to play more offensively. When I dropped back, I was able to read the game better and show my creativity," added Modric.

He is the first Croatian to win the Ballon d'Or and also picked up FIFA's 'The Best' award in October.

FEMALE WINNER

Ada's celebration was overshadowed when the inaugural winner of the women’s award, Ada Hegerberg, was asked to twerk live on stage by the host DJ, Martin Solveig.

Hegerberg, who helped Lyon to the French title and Champions League, scoring in the final, pipped Denmark’s Pernille Harder to the prize but appeared embarrassed when asked by Solveig if she wanted to dance in celebration and “knew how to twerk".

Ada-Winner

The 23-year-old said “no” and seemed to attempt to leave the stage, before reluctantly agreeing to dance to another song with main host David Ginola. Solveig tweeted shortly after the ceremony, saying he had apologized to Hegerberg for the remark.

“I explained to [Ada] and she told me she understood it was a joke,” Solveig wrote. “Nevertheless, my apologies to anyone who may have been offended. Most importantly, congratulations to Ada.”

The Norwegian forward said: “He came to me afterwards and was really sad that it went that way. I didn’t really consider it sexual harassment or anything in the moment. I was just happy to do the dance and win the Ballon d’Or.”

Ada on the move

Modric and Ada

The Norwegian forward said: “He came to me afterwards and was really sad that it went that way. I didn’t really consider it sexual harassment or anything in the moment. I was just happy to do the dance and win the Ballon d’Or.”  Hegerberg added she was extremely proud to be named the first female winner. “It’s incredible,” she said. “This is a great motivation to continue working hard and we will continue to work together to win more titles. I wanted to end with some words for young girls around the world: believe in yourselves.”

BEST UNDER - 21 PLAYER PRIZE

Kylian Mbappe was named winner of the Kopa Trophy for young player of the year at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris on Monday.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward, who does not turn 20 until later this month, starred as France won the World Cup and also won the best young player award in Russia.

Mbappe

The new award named after French former Ballon d'Or winner Raymond Kopa was voted for by 33 living former winners of the main Ballon d'Or prize. Mbappe was also among the 30 nominees to win that award.

Mbappe who was accompanied at the ceremony by his father and his younger brother Ethan scored four goals at the World Cup, including one in the final as France beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow.

Mbappe on the move

In doing so he became just the second teenager to score in a World Cup final after Brazilian great Pele, who achieved the feat in 1958.

A French champion last season with PSG following a 180 million-euro move from Monaco, Mbappe is the top scorer in Ligue 1 this season with 12 goals in 10 appearances.

Modric, Ada, Mbappe

He has scored 32 goals in 56 games for club and country in the calendar year.

Paris St Germain's France forward Kylian Mbappe, who also collected the Kopa award for the best under-21 player, was fourth, with Barca forward Messi finishing fifth.