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Sunday July 15 marked the end of 32 days of the world's biggest football celebration. France was crowned World champion after beating Croatia 4-2. The FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG) met to decide the distribution of the FIFA 2018 awards prior to France lifting the much coveted trophy. Adidas Golden Ball: Luka Modric  adidas Golden Ball Award: 🥇Luka MODRIC ( #CRO ) 🥈Eden HAZARD ( #BEL ) 🥉Antoine GRIEZMANN ( #FRA ) #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/KQSRiwUznh — FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2018 The Golden Ball, introduced in 1982, is arguably the most prestigious accolade of the tournament. Real Madrid and Croatia's superstar midfielder and captain, the most complete and consistent player of the tournament, served as the heart and soul of the Croatian team, tirelessly leading Croatia to its first World Cup final. Modric kept Croatia afloat in the first half of the semifinal game where they struggled against England. This supremely gifted No 10's t

Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus' newly acquired ace was unveiled at a much hyped presentation at Turin on Monday July 16th. In a news conference attended by media from all over the globe, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner appeared as confident as always and made his objectives at Juventus clear. Ronaldo wasn’t shy about expressing his happiness in joining The Old Lady as he said,  "To come to this club at this stage of my career, I am very happy."  "I want to win," he declared. "I want to be the best. Who knows, maybe I will be awarded the Ballon d'Or again but things will happen naturally. "It was difficult to win it in Manchester and Real Madrid, but maybe here? We will see." Ronaldo said there were "many important things" that contributed to his decision to leave Real Madrid, and loved the time spent at Madrid. "The nine years at Real Madrid were wonderful, but it's a brand new step in my life, so I thank all

France just won its second World Cup title in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium, and its first since it hosted the tournament in 1998, 20 years ago. France Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps was a member of the 1998 French squad that defeated Brazil at the 1998 final. On Sunday, Deschamps became the third to ever win the World Cup as a player and coach. The other two to have made such an accomplishment are  Mário Zagallo from Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer from Germany. Croatia's Mario Mandzukic scored the first ever own goal in the World Cup finals history. The 32-year-old Juventus forward brought the overall tally of own goals in the tournament to 12 with a historic header into Danijel Subašić's net.  Ivan Perisic scored a brilliant equalizer for Croatia 29 minutes into the first half. Mandzukic redeemed himself when he a goal in the second half following Hugo Lloris' shocking blunder.  The 31-year-old keeper who doubles as France captain was savagely mocke

Eden Hazard and his team - Belgium - couldn't be happier. They beat England 2-0 on Saturday to finish third at World Cup. After the game, Hazard gave reporters hints he could be leaving Chelsea for Real Madrid. The Chelsea forward told Belgian outlet HLN  “After six wonderful years at Chelsea it might be time to discover something different.” “Certainly after this World Cup. I can decide if I want to stay or go, but Chelsea will make the final decision - if they want to let me go. You know my preferred destination.” Hazard has always been a Real Madrid admirer, and Los Blancos are on a hunt for Cristiano Ronaldo's replacement. Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois isn't ruling out a transfer to Real Madrid either as he said:  “Wherever I go, Hazard must come along. We will not let each other go. We'll see. Now first vacation. And agree with my entourage in between.” The 26-year-old also alluded to the possibility of staying at Chelsea once he speaks with the new

Luka Modric, the 32 year old Croatian midfielder has impressed football lovers a countless number of times, but his extraordinary performance at the World Cup further highlights what a special player he is. The five-foot-eight player is remarkably athletic in addition to his technical qualities, as he has covered a staggering 63km (39.1 miles) in this World Cup, and has played the most minutes - 604. Luka Modric is an excellent ball distributor who keeps the ball moving. Croatia's midfield general has been nominated (by FIFA) Man of the Match in three of Croatia's six World Cup games.  Former Brazil and Real Madrid star had the best to say about Luka Modric - Croatia's captain - ahead of the final to be played today between France and Croatia today. Kaka played alongside Modric for one season before leaving Real Madrid for AC Milan in 2013. Kaka told Omnisport,  "Luka [Modric] shows us that it's easy to play. Believe me it's really really hard to play

Ronaldo has just recently been transferred from Madrid to Juventus and the internet is breaking lose! The announcement was made on July 10, 2018 with Real Madrid confirming that they had agreed to sell Ronaldo. An announcement was later made by Juventus of the four-year contract signed by Ronaldo with the club. "He's called Cristiano Ronaldo and he's now officially a Bianconero," read the prime announcement on Juventus' website.  Ronaldo's departure from Real Madrid has reportedly been fueled by strained relations with the club's president (Florentino Perez). Many thought that Ronaldo would return to Manchester United if he were ever to leave Real, making his Juventus transfer a big surprise. In his nine years at Real, Ronaldo has had four UEFA Champions League wins, two La Liga trophies, three FIFA Club World Cups, two Copas del Rey, two UEFA Super Cups and two Spanish Super Cups. The cost of his transfer - with taxes and player wages