On Monday, Swiss city of Zürich hosted the FIFA Golden Ball award ceremony, and Barcelona's Argentine Lionel Messi stepped up to claimed the prize for the fifth time, ahead of Real Madrid's Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and his Brazilian teammate Neymar.
Croatia's Ivan Rakitić, also Messi's teammate from Barcelona, was shortlisted among 23 candidates for the prestigious award.
Simoultaneously, FIFA FIFPro World XI was selected. Croatia's Luka Modrić of Real Madrid confirmed his status as one of the best midfielders in the world.
foto: Getty Images
He was voted alongside Neuer, Marcelo, Thiago Silva, Sergio Ramos, Dani Alves, Pogba, Iniesta, Messi, Neymar, and Ronaldo in the best team of 2015.
Numerous quality performances for both club and country made him deserve this honour, as one of the pillars of Real Madrid, and helping Croatia reach EURO 2016 in France.
Great recognition for Luka #Modrić as he was deservedly chosen for the @FIFA FIFPro World XI. Congrats! #BeProud pic.twitter.com/uAp6kJ7C6m
— HNS | CFF (@HNS_CFF) January 11, 2016
