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France Football's much-awaited gala may have concluded predictably but the night remained ground-breaking as Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric took home the coveted Ballon d'Or to break the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo decade-long duopoly.
The World Cup star capped off an incredible year with the award, after having already won the UEFA Best Player of the Year award as well as The Best FIFA Men's Player Award.
Modric helped Los Blancos to their third consecutive UEFA Champions League title in May, after which he led his home country to their first FIFA World Cup final in Russia this summer.
The second spot was filled by 2007 winner Cristiano Ronaldo while Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann capped off the top three. Barcelona ace Lionel Messi, however, finished outside the top three for the first time since 2006. The Argentine stands in fifth place behind Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.
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Modric accepted the award saying (via Goal), "It's a unique feeling, I'm happy, proud and it's an honour."
"[There are] extraordinary emotions at the moment. I just want to thank all those who helped me to be here tonight, I thank my team-mates, my coaches, the staff and Real Madrid, all those who work there, the coaches and team-mates in the national team, the ones who voted for me and my family, which allows me to blossom as a person."
"Always have dreams, I wanted to play in a big club, win titles, the Ballon d'Or is all I could dream [about] as a child, it's an honour to win it tonight."
"It's a great pleasure to be here around these players. I keep thinking, I'm trying to get used to being part of this group of exceptional players who have won the Ballon d'Or in history. It's a great pleasure to be part of this group."
"Throughout my career, I understood that work, persistence, believing in yourself, is the basis for expressing your talent. I like a saying - the best is never easy. For me, it was not easy. It was necessary to seize the opportunities."
Twitter has since exploded with reaction to the news:
