The Best FIFA Football Awards is a prestigious event in the world of sports, honouring football players that have been spectacular throughout the year. It encompasses the excellence and brilliance displayed by footballers who have had their names on the lips of spectators and critics alike, in the soccer world for the past year.

Nominees are decided by votes which are split evenly between fans, journalists, national captains and national coaches, these nominees are then narrowed down to three finalists, and the winner of a category is then selected.

There are nine categories for the FIFA Best Awards, which includes Best Men’s Player, Best Men’s Coach, Best Goalkeeper, Best Women’s Player, Best Women’s Coach, FIFA Puskas Awards, FIFA Fair Play, FIFA Fan Award, and FIFA FIFPRO world11.

This year, the award show held at the Royal Festival hall in London, with British actor Idris Elba as the host.

It wasn’t all about Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for once in a long time – though both players did make the FifPro XI.

#LukaModric is the first player aside from Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi to win the FIFA player of the year award since 2007.#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards

— Y! Online (@YNaija) September 24, 2018

Here’s all the award winners:

FIFA Men’s Player 2018: Luka Modric

He said, “It is an amazing feeling. I feel so proud and honoured. It is a special night for me and a special moment in my career. It is a day to enjoy.

“This recognition that I am receiving from everyone is for me the most important thing. There is no prize for this.

“It is something really special and I am thankful to those who are there behind me and supporting me. So thank you!”

On winning more awards, he said “We will see. I am not thinking about it now. I am just so happy that I have this award. There are so many great players in the world.

“It makes you feel proud and that your work is paying off. With this, all my dreams came true.”

FIFA Women’s Player 2018: Marta

FIFA Puskas Award: Mohamed Salah

FIFA Best Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois

FIFA Best Men’s Coach: Didier Deschamps

FIFA Women’s Coach 2018: Reynald Pedros

FIFA Fair Play Award 2018: Lennart Thy

FIFA Fan Award 2018: Peru fans

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In case you missed it, here’s a quick break down of this year’s FIFA Awards.

The Best Fifa Men’s Player

• Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid/Juventus
• Luka Modric | Real Madrid
• Mohamed Salah | Liverpool

The Best Fifa Goalkeeper

• Thibaut Courtois | Chelsea/Real Madrid
• Hugo Lloris | Tottenham
• Kasper Schmeichel | Leicester

The Best Fifa Men’s Coach

• Zlatko Dalic | Croatia
• Didier Deschamps | France
• Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid

The Best Fifa Women’s Player

• Ada Hegerberg | Lyon
• Dzsenifer Marozsán | Lyon
• Marta | Orlando Pride

The Best Fifa Women’s Coach

• Reynald Pedros | Lyon
• Asako Takakura | Japan
• Sarina Wiegman | Netherlands

Fifa Puskas Award

• Gareth Bale | Real Madrid vs Liverpool
• Denis Cheryshev | Russia vs Croatia
• Lazaros Christodoulopoulos | AEK Athens vs Olympiacos
• Giorgian De Arrascaeta | Cruzeiro vs America Mineiro
• Riley McGree | Newcastle Jets vs Melbourne City
• Lionel Messi | Nigeria vs Argentina
• Benjamin Pavard | France vs Argentina
• Ricardo Quaresma | Iran vs Portugal
• Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus vs Real Madrid
• Mohamed Salah | Liverpool vs Everton

Fifa FIFPRO World 11

The World 11 will be selected from a 55-strong list that includes England trio Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker and lots of overseas Premier League talent.

Fifa Fan Award

Peru’s passionate World Cup supporters; also the Japanese and Senegalese supporters.