'Luka Modric wins The Best but the best isn't there': Spanish reaction to FIFA awards

There was a playground reaction to Luka Modric winning the 'Fifa The Best' award in Tuesday morning's papers with very little credit for the Croatian and plenty of: 'My No 10's better than your No 10' comments.

Barcelona director Javier Bordas told Mundo Deportivo: 'If "The Best" has lost some prestige it is because Messi is not there. Everyone knows he is the best player in the world in all aspects.

'You look at Modric and you think about Messi… He is the best passer, the best finisher, he's been the best player in the world for many years and I think everyone knows it.'

One man who did not seem appalled by the choice of winner was Messi himself. He voted for Modric ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo. But the Catalan media were no more gracias than club director Bordas.

'Modric wins The Best but the best isn't there' said Mundo Deportivo. 'The Best is Messi end of story,' sniped Sport who also covered their front page with quotes from Dani Alves, Unai Emery and Samuel Eto'o all saying that in their opinion: 'Messi is the best'.

Beyond the criticism – and with no mention of Modric's achievement of leading Croatia to its first ever World Cup final and winning his fourth Champions League in five years with Real Madrid – the coverage of the London Gala was buried deep into most of the Tuesday editions.

There was a little more prominence given to the event by El Mundo Deportivo but their envoy to London wrote: 'The only reason to justify The Best going to the leader of the World Cup runners-up was that he also won the Champions League.'

Meanwhile in its editorial Mundo Deportivo added: 'A football gala without Messi and Ronaldo was like a theatre performance without the lead actors.'

There was more rejoicing over in Madrid where Modric's triumph was greeted as a home victory.

Marca celebrated the way Madrid dominated the Gala with a 'White Gold' headline. Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Thibaut Courtois had all made the team of the year.

'Modric opens a new era' they proclaimed. Ronaldo being pushed off the podium just as he leaves Real Madrid escaped the attention of no one in the Spanish capital.

Former Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello went against the tide of tut-tutting at the decision to overlook Ronaldo and Messi. He instead criticised the absence of Ronaldo and Messi from the gala itself.

He told Diario AS: 'Their absence is a lack of respect to the player, to FIFA, and to the world of football. It is possible that they have won too much and they don't like to lose. But in life you have to be good when you lose and when you win.'