Real Madrid icon Luka Modric has said that he talked about his 2018 Ballon d'Or win with his compatriot Mateo Kovacic. The two played together at Real Madrid from 2015 to 2018.
In the summer of 2018, Modric played a pivotal role in Croatia reaching the FIFA World Cup final in Russia, losing 4-2 to France, after a great season with Madrid. However, he was wary of breaking Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or duopoly (as per Madrid Xtra):
"You play in an era of two beasts, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. It didn’t even cross my mind. Collective awards have always been more important to me than individual ones.
"I was the best player at the World Cup, which is one of my favorite individual trophies, but I was sad because we lost. Only later I started talking about the Ballon d’Or when people from France Football came and told me there was a possibility. I said okay, but it’s unlikely.
Modric said that he learnt about his Ballon d'Or victory from France Football two weeks ago but wasn't allowed to share it with anyone:
"We had the Nations League, played against England, and I stayed in London that night because we had a day off. In the morning, when I woke up around 10, my phone rang. France Football. I looked at the phone, and that’s when it crossed my mind.
"Tears came to my eyes. (Wife) Vanja told me to answer, and I said I wouldn’t (laughs). She told me I was crazy and to pick up. I didn’t. I waited five minutes and called them back. I thought they would tell me I had been close, but they told me I had won the Ballon d’Or."
Nevertheless, Modric broke the news to his close friend Kovavic.
"It was an unbelievable moment. The worst part was that for two weeks I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. Vanja knew, of course. People kept asking if I knew anything, and I said I had no idea.
"Mateo Kovacic was one of the rare ones I confided in. He is very close to me, and I tell him everything. It was a yes-or-no situation, and I couldn’t hide it from him. He knows everything about me."
He added:
"Toward the end, I told my parents, my uncle, and close friends, not everyone. I wanted some of them to come and see for themselves. I had a phenomenal season with the national team and Real Madrid. I played football at an incredible level for those two years. I won by a landslide, the difference in votes was huge."
Modric's win that year ended Ronaldo and Messi's 10-year stranglehold on the Ballon d'Or, with each man winning five times each. Messi would add three more to his kitty.
Luka Modric's amazing season in 2018
Luka Modric had a brilliant 2017-18 season with club and country, establishing himself as one of the strong contenders for that year's Ballon d'Or, apart from his then Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The midfielder amassed two goals and eight assists in 43 games across all competitions as Zinedine Zidane's team won an unprecedented third-straight UEFA Champions League title, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa Espana and FIFA Club World Cup.
That season, in the FIFA World Cup in Russia, the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner scored two goals and one assist in seven games as Croatia reached the finals for the first time.