where also received the Golden Ball, in August and September Modrić won the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award and The Best FIFA Men's Player Award, while in December, he added the Ballon d'Or to his personal tally, marking the first time since 2007 that the award was not won by Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, which polarized the people involved in the sport into two camps about the credibility of the award. Furthermore, besides becoming the first Croatian player to win these awards, Modrić was the first player to win both the World Cup Golden Ball and the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award in the same year since Ronaldo in 1998, and the World Cup Golden Ball and the Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year Award after Romário in 1994. Additionally, he is the first player to win the awards from the former Yugoslavia territory, the first footballer from Eastern Europe to win a Ballon d'Or after Andriy Shevchenko in 2004, and the tenth player from Real Madrid to capture the trophy. Furthermore, winning the trophy triggered a clause in his contract, ensuring his stay at the club until 2021. He was also included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI for the fourth time, and won the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award. After receiving the FIFA Men's Player of the Year Award, Modrić stated it "shows that we all can become the best with hard work, dedication, and belief, all dreams can come true". Modrić dedicated the Ballon d'Or to "all the players who probably deserved to win it and didn't" in the past decade, including Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Wesley Sneijder among others. 2018–21: Second time champion of Spain and Golden Foot The arrival of new manager Julen Lopetegui in August 2018 saw Modrić given a steady return to the first team as a substitute due to his lack of pre-season training after the 2018 World Cup. This included a substitute appearance in his team's 2–4 loss after extra time against Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup. His first start of the season came on 1 September in a 4–1 home win against Leganés, in which he assisted his side's third goal, scored by Karim Benzema. His 100th appearance in the UEFA club competition came on 19 September in a 3–0 home win against Roma, in which he assisted the second goal, scored