“The Best – congratulations master Luka Modric! You more than deserved it and the whole of Croatia is proud of you. Thanks for everything, captain.” Ivan Rakitic

“Modric broke my heart, so he’s (laughs)… No, in all honestly, with the consistency Luka Modric has shown over the years, and with his performance at the World Cup, the way he led his country was quite magnificent. He had an unbelievable season. I think he was an inch ahead of everybody else.” Kasper Schmeichel to Sky Sports

“Some of us knew long ago that you’d reach the top of the world, although that doesn’t make us any less happy. ‘BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD’.” Alvaro Arbeloa on Twitter

“I am as happy as if I had won it. Luka deserves it, he’s an excellent player and has marked an important era in the history of Real Madrid.” Sergio Ramos

“I think he deserves this award because he had a great season and he’s an amazing player.” N’Golo Kante

“What a player. What a player. We found in Modric a leader during the World Cup. He was amazing.” Didier Drogba

“Luka Modric, congratulations for The Best award – you earned it with your skills, effort and achievements this year. Proud of you!” Mario Mandzukic

"He's a worthy winner. For this award the pinnacle is the World Cup, and the way he performed at the tournament was just unreal. In the England game he just constantly kept on running. I don't think I've ever seen anyone as fit as that on a football pitch. He just kept on going and going and not just running, but his quality. I just think he's top, top draw.” Paul Merson on The Debate

“Congratulations to Luka and Marta on winning the #TheBest awards tonight. It's been a privilege to see you both play this season.” Pele on Twitter

“Marta is above any adjective! The best in the world in 2018 and of all time.” Alex de Souza, 49-times-capped former Brazil playmaker

“Marta is a great source of pride to all of us Brazilians. I have seen at close hand here today the enormous respect and admiration the football world has for her. I am very happy for Marta’s sixth conquest.” Rogerio Caboclo, who will assume the CBF presidency next year, at The Best FIFA Football Awards