Cristiano Ronaldo Agent Jorge Mendes Criticises UEFA for Luka Modric Award
Cristiano Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes has blasted UEFA for their decision to hand Luka Modric the Player of the Year award on Thursday, telling reporters it was "simply and purely ridiculous."
Mendes made the comments in an interview with Portuguese newspaper Record (h/t Sport Witness' Lucas Sposito):
Modric was nominated alongside Ronaldo and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah for the award. Both he and Ronaldo played a major role in Real Madrid's third straight UEFA Champions League title, but the Croat had the superior World Cup, guiding his nation to a second-place finish.
UEFA's website dictates performances for the national team are a part of the judging criteria, but the name of the award often causes confusion. Many, like the Mirror's David Maddock, assumed World Cup performances were excluded from the criteria:
Ronaldo, who moved to Juventus during the summer, scored a remarkable 15 goals in the Champions League, five more than Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. The Portuguese had won the award in three of the last four seasons.
Modric's statistical output was minimal in comparison, but as a deep-lying midfielder, he's not expected to add a lot of goals or assists.
Opinions on the decision to hand him the award were mixed:
Both Modric and Ronaldo are among the final 10 candidates to win the FIFA Men's Player award as well. The three finalists will be revealed on September 3.
