Modric teases Ronaldo: “In football, respect is important”

At the end of the Ballon d’Or Gala in Paris, superstar Lionel Messi presented his trophy for the best footballer in the world.

A relatively predictable affair, because with one exception last year when Luka Modric won the Golden Ball, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had been the two players who had always agreed on the world title since 2008.

Ronaldo, who this time only finished third behind Messi and Virgil van Dijk, preferred to stay away from the event as he did last year. Instead, the Portuguese attended the award ceremony of the Italian Football Association in Milan, which took place almost simultaneously. There “CR7” was awarded as the best player of the Serie A in the last season.

Modric, who presented the Balloon d’Or to his successor Messi in Paris, gave it a small tip. Asked about Ronaldo’s absence, the Croatian said: “The question is already causing polemics. I’m talking about myself. I’m happy to be here because football is about respect. And if you don’t win, you have to be here out of respect, because football is celebrated. That’s why I came here to give Messi the prize and congratulate him.”

Last year, however, Messi was absent from the gala as well as Ronaldo, which disappointed Modric, the winner at the time.

Modric had told the Croatian newspaper “Sportske Novosti”: “It doesn’t make sense, does it? It seems that these votes and prizes are only significant if they win them. It’s unfair to the other players and voters they’ve set up over the past ten years, and also to football and fans. But everyone does what they think is right.”