Modric beats Ronaldo, Salah for UEFA Men's Player of the Year award

Luka Modric capped off a brilliant season by beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah to win the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award in Monaco on Thursday.

The 32-year-old, who also picked up the Champions League Midfielder of the Season award, becomes the first Croatian to win the honor, and the first player outside of Ronaldo and Barcelona star Lionel Messi to win since Franck Ribery during the 2012-13 campaign.

The honor comes in the wake of a season in which the gifted midfielder played a pivotal role in helping Real Madrid lift the Champions League trophy for the third consecutive year.

Modric was also instrumental during Croatia's World Cup campaign in Russia, where he led the country to its first final appearance in the tournament. Despite losing to France, Modric's superb performances were rewarded when he won the Golden Ball award as the best player at the World Cup.

In order to win the honor Modric had to beat Ronaldo, a three-time winner and former teammate at Real Madrid, and Salah, who broke numerous records during a spectacular debut season at Liverpool.

Modric has a chance to collect another major individual honor next month after being named among the 10 finalists for the Best FIFA Men's Player award. The other candidates include Ronaldo, Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Messi, and Raphael Varane.

The three finalists will be revealed Sept. 3 before the award ceremony takes place in London on Sept. 24.