Best fifa football awards 2018: luka modric named men's player of the year as ronaldo and messi fail to show up

Molly McElwee Royal Festival Hall. Pippa Field live updates 25 September 2018 9:19am BST Luka Modric was named Best Fifa Footballer of the Year in a London ceremony noted as much for the the

players in absentia as the awards.  The Croatian beat Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo to become the first player other than Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win since Kaka in 2007.  Though

Modric was keen to avoid any debate over former teammate Ronaldo, he did say both his and Messi's absence from the ceremony was noted. "I don't want to enter into the debate

of whether it is deserved or not, I just want to thank all the people that voted for me for their support. "Everyone has their own reasons. Obviously I would have liked them to be here

but they aren't." Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos also made mention of the two superstars skipping the event. “He (Modric) is a good player, colleague and friend, but it would

have been good for Cris and Leo to be here,” he said.  “I am as happy as if I had won it. (Modric) deserves it, he is an excellent player and has marked an important era in the history of

Real Madrid.”  The award was decided by national team coaches and captains, select members of the media and online voting. Modric acknowledged both his club and national team achievements,

which included winning the Golden Ball at the World Cup, as the deciding factors in claiming the award. "It is for the season we had with Real Madrid, winning the Champions League

again, and then getting to the final with Croatia, it all counts," he said. "The emotion is huge because it is the work of everyone. So many people have come together and so many

have supported me." Messi's omission from the top three garnered particular attention ahead of this, the third edition of The Best awards, which were created after Fifa's

six-year partnership with the Ballon d'Or ended in 2015.   Barcelona's talisman was, however, included in Fifa's team of the year, the Fifpro World XI, as were David de Gea,

Dani Alves, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, N'Golo Kante, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe, and Ronaldo. Meanwhile, Salah was handed a consolation prize for his record-breaking

season with Liverpool, taking home the Fifa Puskas award for his goal in the Merseyside derby.  Brazil and Orlando Pride player Marta was named Best Women's Player for a

record-breaking sixth time. Other winners included Thibaut Courtois for Best Goalkeeper and France national team coach Didier Deschamps and Lyon manager Reynald Pedros for Best Men's

and Women's Coach respectively.                                                                                                      9:22PM TIME TO PARTY? That's the end of the

awards ceremony. Some players might be straight off to bed with training in the morning, others, you imagine, might be out a little longer in the capital. Congratulations to Luka Modric,

Marta and all the other award winners. Same time next year? 9:17PM BEST MEN'S AND WOMEN'S PLAYERS  Time for the photos for Luka Modric and Marta 9:14PM FIFA FIFPRO WORLD11

(MINUS TWO) As I said earlier, there was a bit of an awkward group photo moment with Idris Elba and the players earlier. Here is the result of it. No doubt there will be some who think

Mohamed Salah should be on stage there too. 9:04PM REWARD FOR A FANTASTIC SEASON 9:03PM REAL MADRID PRAISE THEIR MAN > 🏆 THE BEST > ⚽ Mejor Jugador de la FIFA 2018 > 🇭🇷 

@lukamodric10  > 👏 ¡FELICIDADES! 👏#TheBest | #HalaMadrid > pic.twitter.com/mFOUCXCUaB > — Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 24, 2018 9:01PM CONGRATULATIONS MODRIC > 

Congratulations, Luka Modric 👑 > Winner of #TheBest FIFA Men's Player 2018 🏆#FIFAFootballAwards > pic.twitter.com/D489MswXug > — #TheBest (@FIFAcom) September 24, 2018 8:58PM

MODRIC REACTS > It's a great honour and beautiful feeling to stand here with this > trophy. >  > I would like to give congratulations to Mohamed and Cristiano for > the 

great season that they had. I am sure in the future you will > have another opportunity to fight for this. >  > This trophy is not just mine. It is for my Real Madrid team-mates,

> the Croatia national team and all my coaches. This is also for my > family, without who I would not be the player I am. 8:56PM THE BEST FIFA MEN'S PLAYER - LUKA MODRIC Luka

Modric wins the men's player of the year award 8:55PM THE BEST FIFA MEN'S PLAYER... Almost time for the biggest award of the night. Ronaldo will not be picking up the award in

person if he wins, but Modric or Salah are there tonight at the Royal Festival Hall. Can either of them break up the Ronaldo-Messi strangehold? 8:53PM THE BEST FIFA WOMEN'S PLAYER -

MARTA * ADA HEGERBERG (Lyon & Norway) * DZSENIFER MAROZSAN (Lyon & Germany) * MARTA (Orlando Pride & Brazil) Last year it was Barcelona's Dutch midfielder who took home the

award. In 2018, it is Marta who is crowned the best Fifa Women's Player. Her cause was helped by 13 goals and six assists in helping Orlando Pride to NWSL play-offs. She also captained

Brazil to Copa America Femenina title, winning all seven games at the finals. It's an emotional speech from the Brazilian. 8:48PM TWO MORE AWARDS TO GO It's the best men's and

best women's player awards left now, starting with the latter. 8:46PM NO PLACE FOR SALAH Liverpool's Mohammed Salah does not make the cut for the dream team. No British players

either. At least they were spared that awkward selfie on stage with Idris Elba I guess. > What a team 💪 > Your FIFA @FIFPro @World11 🙌#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards > 

pic.twitter.com/KLisY7B2y4 > — #TheBest (@FIFAcom) September 24, 2018 8:43PM FIFA FIFPRO WORLD11 Here's your dream team. David De Gea Dani Alves Raphael Varane Sergio Ramos Marcelo

Luka Modric N'Golo Kante Eden Hazard Lionel Messi* Kylian Mbappe Cristiano Ronaldo * *Not in attendance to pick up their shiny trophies from the hat-wearing Ronaldinho and Michael

Ballack 8:37PM THE FIFA FAIR PLAY AWARD - LENNART THY German striker Lennart Thy missed a game for VVV-Venlo against PSV Eindhoven to donate stem cells to try and help a Leukaemia patient. 

Thy, who was on loan at the top-flight Dutch club from Werder Bremen, was a DNA match. Speaking after receiving the award, he said: > It's a big honour for me to be here tonight and 

receive this award. > It was a matter of course when I got asked to help someone with > blood cancer. >  > The best thing about the story is that there are many new people who

> got registered in the Netherlands which makes me very proud. 8:32PM THE FIFA FAN AWARD  - PERU SUPPORTERS - WORLD CUP It's the Peru fans who get the nod for this one, in an award

voted for by the fans. Well played. 8:26PM BACK TO THE AWARDS, NEXT UP IS FAN OF THE YEAR * Sebastian Carrera, Coquimbo Unido – Chilean Primea B  No one expected anyone to be backing Puerto

Montt in Chile’s Primera B, with the visitors making a 3,000km round trip to face Coquimbo. But Sebastián Carrera stunned his own team by arriving to cheer them on, while the hosts had to

open an entire tribune just for him. The only Puerto Montt fan to witness his side’s win, the team dedicated the triumph to him and his incredible loyalty. * Japan and Senegal supporters - 

World Cup While dedication and passion were clear for all to see when fans of Japan and Senegal brought noise and colour to Russia 2018, they also went beyond the call of duty as fans.

Showing unrivalled respect for fellow supporters and their hosts, the images of them cleaning stadiums after their team’s games drew huge praise from onlookers worldwide. * Peru supporters -

 World Cup Travelling halfway around the globe to witness your country’s first appearance at a World Cup in 36 years is an achievement alone, but the 40,000 Peruvians who descended on Russia

did more than just get behind their team. While every Blanquirroja game was a cauldron of noise thanks to them, their enthusiasm and openness saw them taken to the hearts of locals and

rival fans alike, bringing red and white joy to the tournament. 8:24PM AWARDS RECAP The Fifa Puskás Award - Mohamed Salah The Best Fifa Goalkeeper - Thibaut Courtois The Best Fifa Men's

Coach - Didier Deschamps Best Fifa Women's Coach - Reynald Pedros > 🏆🏆🏆🏆 > Tonight's winners so far! >  > Plenty more to come...#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards > 

pic.twitter.com/QYubkPGzax > — #TheBest (@FIFAcom) September 24, 2018 Four awards down, four more to go. Plus the team of the year.  8:22PM MUSICAL INTERLUDE He was on stage earlier

presenting the goal of the year award. Now Noel Gallagher is back, this time the Manchester City fan is on the mic singing _Don't Look Back In Anger_ 8:16PM SPECIAL MOMENTS IN THE

FOOTBALL WORLD A break in proceedings to take time to reflect on moments which have touched the world of football this year. Cyrille Regis, Davide Astori and Sir Alex Ferguson are among

those in the pictures as well as the Wild Boars team who were involved in the Thailand cave rescue. 8:10PM BEST FIFA WOMEN'S COACH - REYNALD PEDROS * REYNALD PEDROS (Lyon) * ASAKO

TAKAKURA (Japan) * SARINA WIEGMAN (Netherlands) It's double French coaching success! Lyon's Reynald Pedros wins the Best Fifa Women's Coach award. He guided his side to the

league and UEFA Women’s Champions League double and also the Coupe de France Feminine final. Lyon were also unbeaten in the league. A worthy winner. 8:06PM THE BEST FIFA GOALKEEPER - THIBAUT

COURTOIS * THIBAUT COURTOIS (Belgium & Real Madrid) * KASPER SCHMEICHEL (Denmark & Leicester) * HUGO LLORIS (France & Tottenham)  Former Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois beats

Schmeichel and Lloris. It's a short and sweet acceptance speech, including a thank you to his former Chelsea team-mates. Nice touch Thibaut. 8:01PM THE BEST FIFA MEN'S COACH -

DIDIER DESCHAMPS * ZLATKO DALIC (Croatia) * DIDIER DESCHAMPS (France) * ZINEDINE ZIDANE (Real Madrid) From one Frenchman to another... Arsene Wenger announces Didier Deschamps as the winner

of the Best Fifa Men's Coach. He of course led France to World Cup glory this summer and became only the third man to do so as a player and coach. 7:58PM HAPPY LIVERPOOL FANS > YES 

MO!! 🔥👑@MoSalah's stunning strike against @Everton has > been voted as the FIFA #Puskás Goal of the Year. #TheBest > #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/aIg2rTSiEB > — 

Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 24, 2018 7:55PM THE FIFA PUSKÁS AWARD - MOHAMED SALAH It's a good start to the evening for Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. His Merseyside derby goal on Dec

10 2017 has been named the goal of the year. He wants another award tonight though, judging by his acceptance speech. "I'm very happy and proud. I have to thank everyone who voted

for me. I'm looking forward to another award tonight." 7:53PM SMALL TALK I lied. Forgot that the shortlist video montage would be followed by interviews with various people in the

crowd. Didier Drogba and Noel Gallagher now on stage to unveil the winner though!  7:48PM FIFA PUSKÁS AWARD FIRST UP We're just making our way through a montage of the ten shortlisted

goals. But the first award will be announced shortly. Promise. 7:45PM WORLD CUP MEMORIES Telegraph logo This video content is no longer available To watch The Telegraph's latest video

content please visit youtube.com/telegraph Oh that brought back memories of a hot summer and repeated chants of 'it's coming home' as England fans dared to dream. Of course it

ended with semi-final defeat. But no harm in reliving those days again though eh? 7:40PM CEREMONY UNDERWAY Idris Elba is the man with the mic for the ceremony.  We've got our first

emotional montage of the night. Going straight in with the World Cup highlights. I like it. 7:36PM FIFA PUSKÁS AWARD Named in honor of Ferenc Puskas, it is awarded to the player judged to

have scored the most aesthetically significant, or "most beautiful", goal of the year. Ten goals, there will be just one winner. * GARETH BALE (REAL MADRID VS LIVERPOOL) * DENIS

CHERYSHEV (RUSSIA VS CROATIA)  * CRISTIANO RONALDO (REAL MADRID VS JUVENTUS) * LAZAROS CHRISTODOULOPOULOS (AEK VS OLYMPIAKOS)  * GIORGIAN DE ARRASCAETA (CRUZEIRO VS AMERICA MG)  * RILEY

MCGREE (NEWCASTLE JETS VS MELBOURNE CITY) * LIONEL MESSI (ARGENTINA VS NIGERIA, WORLD CUP)  * BENJAMIN PAVARD (FRANCE VS ARGENTINA, WORLD CUP) * RICARDO QUARESMA (PORTUGAL VS IRAN, WORLD

CUP)  * MOHAMED SALAH (LIVERPOOL VS EVERTON)  7:33PM FIFA FAN AWARD The Fifa Fan Award will come from the below trio. More on them later once the ceremony gets underway. * Sebastian Carrera,

 Coquimbo Unido – Chilean Primea B  * Japan and Senegal supporters - World Cup * Peru supporters - World Cup 7:30PM CHELSEA CREW  That's quite a trio of talent there...  Didier

Drogba, N'Golo Kante and Eden Hazard exchanging notes on who the better player is > Three kings arriving in style at the #FIFAFootballAwards! 💙 > pic.twitter.com/Uqjv9GKIf5 > 

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 24, 2018 7:27PM BEST FIFA GOALKEEPER SHORTLIST * THIBAUT COURTOIS (Belgium & Real Madrid) * KASPER SCHMEICHEL (Denmark & Leicester) * HUGO LLORIS 

(France & Tottenham)  Gianluigi Buffon won it last year, here's the three looking to take the award in 2018 7:22PM SALAH SPEAKS Salah has been having a chat on the green carpet

ahead of going up against Ronaldo and Modric. Liverpool fans will no doubt like his answer to favourite goal from last season. > I'm very happy to be here. Hopefully it's not 

the last time I am > here. I always want to be better than last season. >  > My favourite goal was against Everton in the derby and scoring in > that. But they were all 

important. >  > Representing my country at the World Cup was one of the best moments > in my life. I was very proud. >  > It means a lot to be nominated tonight. If I win it I

 will be very > happy, if I don't I will be looking forward to next year. 7:19PM WHO WEARS IT BEST? With football stars streaming down the green carpet, there's plenty to talk

about. I want to talk hats right now. Who do you prefer? Ronaldinho or Gianluca Vialli? Is it hat weather in London tonight?  7:13PM SALAH IN THE HOUSE Latest Salah watch... He's opted

for stylish all black tonight.  > 📸😎@MoSalah arrives @ #TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards > pic.twitter.com/PhXwnPiAC5 > — Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 24, 2018 7:11PM FIFA SHOW If you

want pictures and audio to go alongside this blog, then you can of course also watch it all unfold on FifaTV via YouTube > 📸😁 Strike a pose! #TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards > 

pic.twitter.com/Y0nlAxegV2 > — #TheBest (@FIFAcom) September 24, 2018 7:09PM FAMILY TIME No shortage of family members accompanying individuals on the green carpet tonight. Sure those

photos will make a lovely addition to the family photo albums... 7:04PM BEST FIFA WOMEN'S COACH * REYNALD PEDROS (Lyon) * ASAKO TAKAKURA (Japan) * SARINA WIEGMAN (Netherlands) Reynald

Pedros saw his side to league and UEFA Women’s Champions League double, last year's winner Sarina Wiegman helped the Dutch make an undefeated start to Women’s World Cup qualifying while

Asako Takakura guided Nadeshiko to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup title. All good claims to the title this year. 7:00PM BEST FIFA WOMEN'S PLAYER SHORTLIST * ADA HEGERBERG (Lyon &

Norway) * DZSENIFER MAROZSAN (Lyon & Germany) * MARTA (Orlando Pride & Brazil) England's Lucy Bronze was on the running to make the shortlist but in the end it was Ada

Hegerberg, Dzsenifer Marozsan and Marta who made the final top three.  6:55PM TALKING OF SALAH... He's no stranger to catching the headlines on the pitch, think Champions League final

and Mo Salah. Now Sergio Ramos is doing the same off it with his shirt choice. Here he is posing with FIFA eWorld Cup Champion Mosaad Aldossary. 6:51PM HAZARD WANTS 'PAL' SALAH TO

WIN Obviously the main award of the night is the Best Fifa Men's Player which, for the first time since 2007, is missing Lionel Messi from the shortlist. Instead it is Cristiano Ronaldo

up against Luka Modric and Mo Salah. Eden Hazard is in attendance tonight and he says he would like close friend Mo Salah to win. Not sure if that's who he was blowing a kiss to

below... 6:46PM NINE AWARDS UP FOR GRABS  As well as the men's coach of the year, there are a further eight awards up for grabs tonight.  * The Best Fifa Men's Player *

The Best Fifa Women's Player * The Best Fifa Men's Coach * The Best Fifa Women's Coach * The Best Fifa Goalkeeper  * The Fifa Fair Play Award * The Fifa Puskás Award * The

Fifa Fan Award * Fifa Fifpro World11 6:40PM WORLD CUP MEMORIES There is going to be plenty of mentions of this summer's World Cup so a chance to relive England's run in Russia

plenty of times. > Manager Southgate has just been talking on the green carpet, > reminiscing away.  >  > "It was an honour to manage your country. We had a brilliant 

summer, > it was so nice we made such a difference to so many people. >  > "When I came back I went away on holiday quite quickly, then we had > the two matches. It was only

 the last few days in London, walking > along the street, you can see how much of a difference it has made. >  > "The most pleasing thing for these players and future players 

that > we've now won a shootout at a World Cup. That will stick with them." And he was being non-committal about who should win the best men's coach of the year. Well

played Gareth. Just to remind you, it's been Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps and Zlatko Dalic. 6:32PM FORGET THE RED CARD, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GREEN CARPET Welcome. The great and

good of the football world have been busy arriving to the Royal Festival Hall on London's Southbank for the last couple of hours. The show will get underway shortly and we'll keep

you posted on all the winners 6:27PM NIGHT FOR THE STARS OF FOOTBALL Croatia and Real Madrid star Luka Modric returns to London on Monday with the best chance of being named FIFA's

player of the year anyone other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo has had for a decade. That decision will be the climax of the Best FIFA Football Awards show at the Royal Festival

Hall, with the 90-minute ceremony being broadcast online from 7.30pm. The former Tottenham midfielder's hopes of breaking the 10-year Messi/Ronaldo duopoly are based on two pillars:

one, Messi has not made the short list for the first time since 2007; and two, Modric was the player of the tournament at this summer's World Cup and won UEFA's player of the year

last month. Ronaldo, however, has been nominated for another player of the year prize, with Liverpool and Egypt hero Mohamed Salah completing the line-up. Compered by British actor Idris

Elba and featuring a performance by Noel Gallagher, the awards are in their third year in this guise having previously been a joint venture with France Football's Ballon d'Or

between 2010 and 2016, and before that the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Since 2008, it has been Messi first and Ronaldo second five times, and Ronaldo first, Messi second five times.

Ronaldo, of course, will have his backers again, in a voting system that is equally weighted between national team managers, national captains, representatives from the media and an online

public vote. The 33-year-old, who joined Juventus this summer in a £99million deal, helped Real Madrid win a third straight Champions League title last season, his fifth in total, with 15

goals in the tournament. But Portugal did not progress beyond the last 16 in Russia, although Ronaldo did score a memorable hat-trick against Spain. Modric was also a key member of that

Madrid side but he also drove Croatia to their first appearance in a World Cup final, where they lost 4-2 to France but not before beating the likes of Argentina, Russia and of course

England. Salah, like Ronaldo, was not at his peak in Russia but he at least had the excuse of not being fit following his controversial tangle with Sergio Ramos in the Champions League

final. Prior to that moment, though, the Egyptian was arguably the hottest finisher in the world with his 32 Premier League goals a record for a 38-game season.