The Croatian wizard was at the top of his game in Abu Dhabi and cemented his stature as one of the world’s finest midfielders
Cristiano Ronaldo may have scored the decisive strike in Real Madrid’s Club World Cup victory, but he was beaten to the Golden Ball award by his team-mate Luka Modric.
Ronaldo opened the scoring on Saturday when his free kick slipped through the Gremio wall and beat Marcelo Grohe.
With no further goals coming in the final, Madrid retained their Club World Cup title after downing the Brazilians and Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi.
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Despite goals in both ties, however, Ronaldo had to settle for the silver award behind Madrid’s impeccable midfield dynamo.
Pachuca’s Jonathan Urretaviscaya completed the podium by taking bronze as the tournament’s third-best player.
Modric barely put a foot wrong in Madrid’s two games, bossing each match from the middle of the park and showing why he is considered one of the finest passers in the world.
And while the presence of Ronaldo in the Merengue team means his talents are often overlooked when it comes to individual prizes, this time the former Tottenham star got the recognition he deserved for inspiring his team to yet another title.